彼らの主張としてはこの道路と公園の間は公園でない。したがって夜は閉鎖される市のルールが適用されない。これってどうなんでしょうか？？？The situation has left some residents and City Council members frustrated and asking why more can't be done to address the problem.
"This is outrageous," said Deborah Luckett, a frequent park user and a member of the neighborhood board that includes Kapi'olani Park. "We have all the tools in place to be able to remove these people."
The city has been working to tackle illegal camping at Kapi'olani as part of its push to open up parks to the wider public and because the 200-acre park, one of the most popular on O'ahu, is at the gateway to Waikíkí.
But that effort has been met with plenty of hurdles.
The homeless in Kapi'olani were able to skirt the city's revised "illegal camping" ordinance — which went into effect in August 2008 to replace one struck down by the Hawai'i Supreme Court because it was too vague — by sleeping during the day and sitting up in the park at night or relying on friends to wake them up when police patrolled.
The new "illegal camping" ban tailored the definition of illegal camping to ban using a public park as a "temporary or permanent dwelling place" between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Then, in April, the city began closing the park at night and that seemed to take care of the issue for a while.
loophole in law
But for at least the past month, homeless in the park have found a new loophole: The encampment that will be moved today so crews can perform maintenance was set up on a strip of land about 6 feet wide between the sidewalk at Kapi'olani Park and the road.
It hasn't been moved because there are questions about whether the patch of land is considered part of the park — and therefore subject to park rules. Yesterday, city Parks Director Les Chang said in an e-mailed statement that city officials are still "working to determine whether that particular strip of land is park property."
City Councilman Charles Djou, whose district includes the park, said he has gotten a number of complaints about the encampment at the doorstep to the state's No. 1 tourism destination. And he said that even if the strip of land is not part of the park, then it should be seen as a city right-of-way, where structures are not allowed. Another question, though, then becomes whether a tent is a "structure," he said.
Djou added that he would introduce legislation to address the issue if the city determines the campers have indeed found a loophole.
"For me, this is just ridiculous," Djou said yesterday. "It's this legal netherworld that vagrants are exploiting."
space at shelters
The discussion comes as advocates report seeing more people on the streets, especially in the urban core, because of the economic downturn. But advocates said those at Kapi'olani are likely not people who have just become homeless, but rather are mostly chronically homeless people who may have substance abuse or mental health issues.
Advocates agree that the place for the homeless is at shelters, not in parks.
But they also said that addressing the issue with homeless sweeps won't solve it.
Some even said it could exacerbate it, by forcing the homeless to always be on the move, so social workers have trouble tracking them down and trying to get them linked up with services. Homeless advocates also said at least some of those in the Kapi'olani Park encampment probably aren't in shelters because they don't want to be.
Darlene Hein, director of community services at the Waikiki Health Center, which offers outreach for homeless islandwide, said the number of tents at the Kapi'olani Park encampment — on a strip of land near Waikíkí Aquarium — has grown over the past few weeks because someone found "a window" and word spread fast.
She added the situation "demonstrates that there really is a serious (homeless) problem and one that we do need to work on in" a coordinated way, not with spot efforts.
Connie Mitchell, executive director of the Institute for Human Services, which runs emergency shelters in Honolulu, said it's difficult to make generalizations about homeless in the urban core. But she said many do work or want to work, but can't afford a place.
She also said both her shelters currently have space for single men and women. There are about 50 spaces open for single men, and 40 spaces for single women.
moving out
Yesterday at Kapi'olani, some homeless campers were packing up their tents and preparing to be moved out today. The campers got leaflets yesterday warning them that they would have to move. Police also told them yesterday they would have to move on.
Several campers said they didn't know where they would go.
"I don't know what I'm going to do if I can't come here," said Teddy Espinoza, 21, who has been sleeping in Kapi'olani for a year. He moved a few weeks ago to the area that will be cleared out today.
Danelle Sanchez, 39, lives in a tent at the park with her fiance, 31-year-old Jason Sampson. The two said they had tried to get off the streets, and were on waiting lists for shelter and other programs. They also said they couldn't afford an apartment with the income they have.
"They need more affordable places," Sanchez said.
Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.
こんな理屈をこねるホームレスは日本にはいないと思います。これがアメリカを悪くしています。
ReplyDeleteWe never seen such an argumentative homeless people in Japan.
ReplyDeleteWe have never seen.
ReplyDeleteプロ野球ドラフト江川の空白の一日と同じですね。あの日以来プロ野球ファンを止めました。TVで野球見なくなりました。古い話これが分る方50歳以上。
ReplyDeleteThis is clearly a sensitive issue as there are an array of "reasons" for people being homeless. Some are a result of mental illness, illegal drug abuse while others simply lack the motivation to create a better life for themselves. Ironically, our lawmakers' seem to be taking a "band-aid" type approach rather than addressing the "source(s)" of the problem. While I'm not saying the solution is a simple one, it's not; rather, it is very complex and in the end, it comes down to someone or a group of people with influence (i.e., our lawmakers) taking a comprehensive and may I say "radical" out of the box, yet "coordinated" approach to this problem with consideration to the potential litigation this problem poses; including that from groups like the ACLU, Homeless Right Advocates, etc. There will "always" be loopholes in the laws made and nothing that falls short of being a black and white law will be able to encompass homeless in its entirety aside from making "not having a physical residence" a crime; implementing specific permit requirements for any temporary facility that is erected and relates to a shelter (i.e., tent) of sorts to include "permissiible zones" etc. Additionally, laws would need to be made to address those who are mentally unstable as it is illegal to "force medication unto someone," I believe. Then we would have to create more prison space for the violaters which cannot currently house as many of our inmates are shipped to other states to be cared for by "contracted" facilities. I think I'm going to run out of room soon, but this issue without question presents a "slippery slope" when you really think about it!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you guys think practical solutions would be? Any recommendations?
Wailupe Valley School is now vacant. Rather than sitting idle it could possibly be turned into a homeless shelter, even if only temporarily. Inside Diamond Head crater would get them away from public view but would take them too far away from food sources. Some of them are happy living this way and don't want help. However, there should be some way to force them to either take help offered or ??? There must be some consequence for them turning down shelter if it is offered and they refused because they don't want to live by rules and regs. I have offered no practical solutions and I'm rambling!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea. I had something a little, well a lot, more radical than that. Creating a homeless shelter, per se, would open another "can of worms" and bureaucracy. Staffing, supplies, materials, insurance, general liability, crime, lease rent, etc. In the end, it would result in too much overhead if it is not private and run by the governement. It's a good start to this discussion however. Have you ever seen the movie "Escape from New York?" Imagine a lone community that people would have the "option" to live in. Living off the land, a "community effort" towards basic sruvival and everyday living. This would definitely promote responsibility and accountability. The only other aspect would be illness and crime (i.e., policing structure and basic medical needs). Obviously there would be a lot more to this complex concept but in the end, mental illness aside, this would be the best solution to set aside a parcel of land for this reason. It's difficult to provide alternative without actually "promoting homelessness" or a "simplified lifestyle." But I certainly feel that the time and effort being put into this effort has been to no avail thus far. Temporary solutions like "no sleeping in public parks, offensive odors on busses, no camping on beaches, etc., are without question aimed at homelessness despite its presentation. In the end, these ideas are almost impossible to enforce and will ultimately affect the city and state level of government one way or another. These efforts are not a wise way of spending taxpayer dollars. We need "new, fresh, out-of-the-box, original" ideas and less of the same redundancy...
ReplyDelete...then there's the rail issue which is cimply another example of mismanagement of fiscal and physical resources. The first thing that we should be focusing on is ensuring that we have the infrastructure to support all of these changes. If you think about it, no effort has been made to synchornize our traffic lights to streamline the process; the road conditions on Oahu are....we'll how should I put this, dilapitated, our water and sewer lines are in desperate need of repair/replacement and always seem to be breaking compounding to the problem and then there's our water supply and the high cost of utilities. Personally, it does not make sense to me to be so "reactionary" versus "proactive." Oh, now look who's rambling...
ReplyDeleteAny thoughts on this topic??
OK Hiro. I've fullfilled your request.
ReplyDelete