homeless living on the beach? (Waianae, Makaha: apartment, crime, homes)

[MikeKle]

I read an article that stated HI has many homeless people that set up little tent camps right on the beaches. It named the city, I think it started with a W, but I cannot think of the name right now. I almost could not believe it! I work and have a home but I have to live in boring KY and deal with winter, all the while homeless people are living in paradise and resting on the beach all day???????? Is this as common as the articles say it is? when you think about it, it does make sense though, if you have no home to go to and have to live outdoors, why not live where the weather is perfect all year! It did say the county and cities try to move them around but really have no success. It is just suprising that type of poverty exists in paradise. I wonder if it mainly native people or homeless from other states that "relocate" to HI? I hope to vacation there someday as my brother took his honeymoon there and said the whole island smells like flowers and raved about a waterfall area that has such clear blue water it almost looks fake!!!

[drsmiley06]

I was in Oahu for vacation in early November 08' and saw quite a number of homeless people on the beach, and apparently there's nothing the city can do about it from what I was told. I had asked a few locals about it and they said it's very common to see people setting up tents on or near the beach. I think now they may need some kind of permit but somehow people keep getting away with it. My dad recently told me that Hawaii was thinking about getting rid of all the homeless people by offering them a one-way plane ticket off the island to the mainland, not sure if that's true or not but I wouldn't be surprised if that happen.

[leilaniguy]

Many of the homeless have jobs, but just don't make enough money to afford rent. The state certainly can't force U.S. citizens to leave. They are proposing 1 way tickets out, voluntarily, but other states already fly their homeless here, so it's a no-win.

[MikeKle]

Other states fly their homeless people to HI?! WOW. Its nice to know our tax dollars are being used to send people on a permanent vacation. I guess I really shouldnt be suprised though? Im sure the new stimulus bill being proposed right now has some travel money set aside for this.

[aquariusmom]

You're probably talking about Waianae, and its not the same as the token homeless in Waikiki...

These are locals, not homeless people shipped in from anywhere- they are unable to afford homes on their own island.

over 3,000 homeless live along west oahu beaches on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[R_Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by MikeKle

I work and have a home but I have to live in boring KY and deal with winter, all the while homeless people are living in paradise and resting on the beach all day???????? !

We had a problem with some mainland groups sending homeless to Hawaii for many years. I don't know if they are still doing that.

But, Mike, if you call going 3 months without a shower; dragging all your belongings around in a grocery cart; wearing two different pair of beat up shoes with rubberbands holding them together; eating out of trash cans; dealing with lice and other varmints in your clothes; sleeping in the daytime next to traffic because sleeping at night is too dangerous and could cost you your life "resting on the beach all day" --- then, sure, move to Hawaii and live like a homeless person.

I lived in Hawaii for 3 decades. My mainland friends and family would occasionally chide me for living 'in paradise' because "they had to work for a living." Pretty much EVERYONE in Hawaii works. Even people who retired and moved there discover they need to supplement their income.

It is very difficult to make it in Hawaii on what you are making in "boring KY." Land is expensive. Shipping is expensive. And those two items alone add a huge burden on the costs of things. There are some families who live in shelters and on the beach. It's really sad. It's hard for little kids who are trying to go to school without a permanent home. Hard for the parents who are trying to go to work and look presentable. Hard for the communities to deal with because crime increases.

A friend of mine who has worked with the homeless for decades once estimated that about 70% of the people who are homeless in Hawaii have some sort of mental or physical challenge. That also makes the streets dangerous for the families who are trying to survive.

It's been a huge problem in Hawaii for a long time. They tried for a time to put up tents for them to have shelter from the rain and weather (YES, it DOES rain, A LOT, in Hawaii!) But then that became an eyesore. It is a challenge that both city and state offices have tried to handle.

The saddest thing for me in the entire homeless population in the US is that many of them are VietNam vets. And the VA is struggling right now, so it isn't going to get much better when the current crop of vets come home.

[Taylorcraftbc65]

MikeKle,
I am a Nam vet, who draws 100% VA disability. I lived in Hawaii from 1990 to 1993, and was able to manage my money well enough to where I had my own car, and a beachfront efficiency apartment at the Makaha Surfside.
NOT all of us are incapable of staying sober, washed, clothed in regularly washed clothing, and fed several times a day.
One of the ways that I would make my food budget last, was that I would go down to Pray For Sex Beach west of Makaha, and catch fish. I would then share some of my catch with the Hawaii Native residents of a "tent village" there on the beach. Every day they would set nets in the water, so there was plenty of food to go around. A Japaneese guy in his sixties would cook up rice, and we would have a real luau several times a week. Nobody acted stupid, I am half Cherokee, so I didn't act like a Haole, but at the same time, did not act like a "wannabee". We all had a GREAT TIME. Brie

[Taylorcraftbc65]

Hey R_cowgirl, aka Phoenix or 38,000 feet.
Are you flight crew, or cabin crew?
Brie, aka Taylorcraftbc65
( as in restored 1940 BC-65 Taylorcraft )