Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It is a complex problem, and rarely factually correct to draw conclusions from a 2 week visit and a few sightings.
"Shabby" people hanging out may not be homeless, as the dress style in Hawaii is often way more casual, with less new clothing, than people might find in an area where they tend to judge a person by their clothing.
Seeing the same people (and I'm not sure you would truly recognize the same individual, but let's say you did) in an outdoor setting still doesn't make them homeless, it might mean it's a favorite spot for a group of folks who get together. Sort of like the Cheers bar ("Norm!"), but outside. Not to say they are drinking, although many do, it's just to say that folks like to get together with friends outside. In California when we were younger, we used to 'hang out' with friends at various places, sometimes outside but often in a mall or other indoor location. Of course Hawaii lends itself to being outside & people watching & hanging out.
Our friends who just visited, a family with 4 kids, were continually commenting on how clean the Maui beaches, parks, and hiking trails were. They were comparing to California Bay Area. Our answer is that like draws like, and if some place started to get litter, it seemed to multiply. Most people who come to our beaches clean up after themselves. Surely most locals do in the beach parks, but sometimes the rubbish bins overflow and the winds blow the trash around. The fact that you saw trash in the banyon trees may indicate this problem. With our new Maui County plastic bag ban, we are all hoping that there will be a lot less light airy bags getting blown into trees, bushes, and the ocean. My point is that sometimes the rubbish is from visitors, not just locals, and also could be a symptom of reduced budgets by park cleanup crews.
Yes, all this is not to say there isn't a homeless problem here. Maui has it's first panhandlers, and I must say that pushes my button. The 2 fellows I've seen holding up signs are Caucasian, and one can interpret that however one wishes. Locals? Maybe not. Recent transplants? Probably.
It would be nice if we all lived in a tidy world where trash didn't exist. I propose the only way to make that happen is to help with the problem, not just complain about it. Make sure you recycle, don't buy more than you need, and dispose of your own trash appropriately. If a rubbish can is overflowing, hold onto your discards until you find a place where you can leave it without it blowing around. When you next take your 2 boys anywhere in the public parks or beaches (here or at home), bring an empty bag and have them pick up some litter. It will be a great lesson and they will become even better citizens. You might want to bring along some gloves, as litter can be dirty.
With our new Maui County plastic bag ban, we are all hoping that there will be a lot less light airy bags getting blown into trees, bushes, and the ocean.
I got some GREAT exercise chasing someone's plastic bag down last May. When I finally caught the sucker, everyone on the beach applauded.
Never knew I was a hero!
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
