‘ANINI — Sitting in a small beach chair surrounded by the remains of his campsite, Kaipo Ah Yet didn’t know where he’d be sleeping Wednesday night.
“I don’t know if I’m gonna go to Salt Pond, I really don’t,” Ah Yet said. “I’ll get a pop-up somewhere.”
Once he takes his last shower at ‘Anini Beach Park and squeezes the last of his belongings into his Pathfinder, he planned to get into his car and start driving. A chef, Ah Yet, 62, didn’t even have a car until 6 p.m. Tuesday.
“I started moving last night,” Ah Yet said. “I’m tired. I’m still tired.”
Wednesday marked the first closures of the county’s Shelter in Place program that established five county-owned beach parks — ‘Anini, Anahola, Lydgate, Salt Pond and Lucy Wright — as a monthly permitted campsite the houseless community could utilize during the COVID-19 pandemic that had access to running water, bathrooms, showers and social services.
Ah Yet moved into ‘Anini in April 2020 after a series of downfalls starting with losing the room he rented to a fire. Due to the pandemic, the restaurant Ah Yet worked at only opened on weekends and shifts began to dry up, leading him to tap into his social security early. Without a car, he wasn’t able to move as quickly as he would have liked.
At ‘Anini, he built up a sand wall to protect himself from the winds and flooding.
“I had a good spot,” Ah Yet said, pointing to a near-empty spot in the sand.
The Shelter in Place program started early last March as a way for the county to limit the movement of the vulnerable houseless population, per safety guidelines established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Then, the county instituted a monthly permitting system monitored by the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation. That first month of the program, 254 camping permits were issued across the park. The program peaked in July 2020, with 275 permits issued. Last month, that number was 230, with 78 licensed at ‘Anini, according to the department.
In February of this year, the county announced the stagged end of Shelter in Place as part of the county’s COVID recovery strategy. The county worked with nonprofits to get the houseless vaccinated, coordinate outreach events and continued efforts to get individuals and families placed in affordable homes.
Housing Agency Director Adam Roversi said that 168 new affordable housing units had become available since the start of the pandemic.
“We can share that Women In Need estimates about one-third of the 70 or so tenants at Kealaula, which had move-ins from Nov. 2020 through Jan. 2021, came from county beach parks,” Roversi said.
Closing the parks
Anahola and ‘Anini beach parks closed yesterday, March 31. Lucy Wright is next, with a shut-down date at the end of April.
Kaua‘i County Councilmember Felicia Cowden has made visits to the parks throughout the last year.
“The majority have a strategy (of where to go next), but that doesn’t mean it’s a real place,” Cowden said. The councilmember arrived at ‘Anini around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday from Kilauea. “For many that are leaving, there’s a mindset of gratitude. The Parks and Recreation Department has been very respectful and kind. People are working together to help clean the park up.”
Park rangers and caretakers from Parks and Recreation arrived in the morning to load up left-behind belongings and trash. Monday, the county will begin its clean-up of the park, getting it ready to open up for public-use.
“It’s all the stuff that they leave and given us permission to throw away,” Caretaker Supervisor AJ Basuel said. “Most of them don’t got cars, and they can’t take the big items they got donated to them.”
Basuel and another caretaker, Shilo Pa, said that over the last year, they’ve found friends and family members there.
“I have family that was down here down on the end there,” Pa said, pointing down the northern-end of the beach. “They packed up and moved already. They were down here a while.”
The park was home to many families.
While she cooked breakfast, Karri-Lee Texeria began to clean up her campsite situated near the road. Texeira, her husband and her children have lived at ‘Anini since March 2020 because of high rent costs. With five kids, finding a place suitable for the whole family has been difficult, too.
Texeira, waiting for her husband to return to the campsite Wednesday morning, said they were planning to move to Salt Pond, which has the latest close date at June 30.
Department of Parks and Recreation Director Wally Rezentes Jr., said that there were permit increases at both Salt Pond (seven) and Lucy Wright (one) between March and April, from people moving location.
But some people found it more difficult to move without a clear path. Auntie Sunee has been at ‘Anini since June 2020 after being evicted from her home in Moloa‘a. She packed up her belongings and cat, named Spider-Man, on Wednesday, but said it didn’t have to be this way.
Many of the residents Sunee had lived alongside at the park were simply down on their luck, without a job due to the pandemic. Sunee explained that many are compliant with state and county permits and laws, and the closure of the parks without a clear place for people to go is unjust because the island lacks affordable rentals.
“All community support has and remains to be greatly appreciated, with public and private input essential to the formation of a real solution,” Sunee said.
How about asking Zuckerburg to give up some land? Make some affordable housing on 30 acres- still leaves him 720 acres to roam!
I believe he has contributed a lot to our island since joining our community. In the millions. I’m curious as to why you are looking to him? Look in the mirror. If you feel so strongly about the need to help these people why don’t you offer up your couch, toilet and shower.
No ONE needs 750 acres for a compound for wealthy techies- Robinson lands produce something….. Btw, go home transplant!!! He has offered pennies to the island and it’s people, meanwhile bringing lawsuit against Locals and their Kuleana title-he threw some $$ to get a hospital ER in his name…..
Zuck? how about Robinson land -it’s thousands upon thousands of acres
Remember when Zuckerberg said the U.S. should build bridges not walls in response to Trump?? Then he built that lava rock wall around his property bwahahaha brah these guys I tell you….
Mr. Mayor was not on site for his photo op? Oh yeah he only does that when it makes him look like a hero. Carry on king covidiot.
I too am not a fan of Kawakami’s response. He and his wife often blocks individuals who do not agree with them on social media. It’s either you agree with us or screw you. More of a dictatorship than a democracy. I voted for Kawakami once but never again.
That little wall was there long before Zuk. There are hedges along the road taller than the wall. He built an entrance gate.
We get it, homeless people need a place to go. But beachfront at our public park that the taxpayers fund, is not the place.
Dear Mark Zuckerberg,
You may have noticed the homeless camps on Kauai (your new home) are being broken up now. They were temporary camps for covid, and now they are being dismantled.
What a perfect opportunity for you to step and help. This would truly garner some (much needed) respect from the locals, and would help those most desperately in need. It would cost you literally nothing, and you would be a hero to a lot of people who will be forever grateful.
Think about it, it would be great if you helped now.
All the Best. Aloha
Zuck has done more philanthropically than most other Kauai residents. if you are looking for others to help, why not the Robinsons? they own thousands upon thousands of acres… just vacant land…
Robinson lands produce something- Zuck runs around nude with all the other weirdos that the west coast produces….. And if Robinson didn’t own it, other weird Californians would buy up huge chunks and built their walls and castles
I agree whole heartedly, the zuck could and should help take care of the homeless situation. I’ll bet there are a few of them who’s heritage land he probably now owns. You see the zuck is worth billions and his holdings have amassed 10s of billions more in the past year of pandemic. More people online. More advertising dollars. More media manipulation, better algorithms created to exploit your emotions and addictions. He’s too smart to help out our island anymore than he needs to. He’s buying influence with the politicians, by donating mobile vaccination clinics, online learning, and financially backing kawakamis rise to work. He helps make derek look good. Derek now owes him a favor. And you can bet my last dollar he will help derek become governor and when that happens all of hawaii will be even more screwed. Noticed I said WHEN it’s not if.
Dear Gordo,
If you feel that way about the issue you could help too. Take someone in. Share your space. Aloha.
When it comes to helping people, take the advice of David Presley, look in the mirror and help the person you see. That image is very hard to see if you are tweeking, abusing drugs and alcohol, or blinded by crocodile tears, while whining “Poor me, give me more”. Giving people things doesn’t usually solve a problem. Take a look at how our parks & Homeland get turned into dumpsters, and literally crapped on. Respect yourself & the place you call home for a better life. Maholo Aloha
The point you’re making is an easy one, to write off all people in need as lazy drug addicts who disrespect their surroundings and are just looking for a handout. True there are some homeless folk that fit into those categories, but to paint all current homeless with that same brush is to willfully ignore the reality of the current situation so as to avoid engaging in constructive debate about real solutions.
I have worked for over 2 decades as a caregiver for the elderly, from Alzheimer’s/dementia sufferers to hospice patients and folk who just need some extra help a few days a week. When the pandemic hit I went from working 52 hours/week down to 10, and eventually zero. Since my primary position was as a live-in caregiver, when I lost my job I lost my home, and unemployment does not compensate me for that; in fact, due to working a combination of on-the-books AND ‘gig work’ my weekly benefit amount is a whole $104. Even with the extra $300/week I can’t afford a place to rent, so I’m one of the many new & temporarily homeless people on Kauai.
So when you talk about helping people and helping yourself, where do I stand? Currently I live in my van, which is illegal in this state save for at those few beach parks that will close to me soon. In a matter of months I expect to be back to working full time, or close to it— what do you propose I do until then?
My case is far from unique; I’ve met scores of people who are hardworking, honest, sober, and clean who are simply victims of circumstance. (And by the way, not only do we clean up after ourselves but we leave any place we stay cleaner/nicer than we found it.)
You can ignore reality all you want, demonize those in need, and make simple, faulty arguments to feel good and tell yourself that YOU deserve what you have, and the same goes for everyone else. But that serves no purpose in the public debate, a realm that should be reserved for those who care about their community & the people in it, and who want to make a better life for all.
how about purchasing one-way airline tickets, and find a location in the United States more affordable and get a job….Our family works, lives, and survives in a ZIP Code that we can afford, not standing around waiting on the government handout
“Methamphetamines”
Agee with Kawika,
The answer is locally. Easy to default and blame everything on landowners like Zuckerberg
and tourists. He pays more in property taxes than most, likely will leave the land pristine for the most part ( which is what most kauaians want), donates to local causes on and on.
Is that a Ford Truck? hey, do you need any backup camera for your truck? If you have a car radio that has video DVD player on it. Really would like to do that job for you. Easy does it.