Solutions:
September of last year, the Mayor of Honolulu signed three different bills that actually make it a misdemeanor to sit or lie on the sidewalks and streets in Waikiki (a very popular tourist city on Oahu). The bills also state that it is a legal to “relieve oneself” in public. The Caldwell Administration is working on a plan to relocate 100 “chronic homeless” to an island known as Sand Island. Unfortunately, this island, which has been used for concentration camps, sewage treatment plants, and a site for solid waste disposal has been contaminated with various toxins found in a 2000 EPA study. These toxins include arsenic, lead, nickle, methylene chloride, pesticides, and even PCB. Plans like this, although are supposedly attempts to “help” the homeless seem to only focus on getting the homeless off the streets; this means getting them away from tourists to protect the economy which profits off of tourism.
“We are not a Disneyland paradise. The people here re in a very real struggle to survive, and they’re being displaced at a terrible rate,” Laulani Teale (an advocate for the homeless) stated. All the beaches, waterfalls, lush plants and flowers are beautiful traits of the islands but homelessness is certainly not. There is nothing beautiful about it and like Laulani said, it is a serious struggle of life and death for many who are affected by the problem at hand.
Large-scale luxury construction projects, mostly on Oahu, are underscoring the lack of affordable housing big-time. There aren’t many solutions for cutting back construction like this because the government will most likely profit in some way from the outcomes of these projects. Therefore, there is not a huge concern in preventing these construction projects from taking way. Another concern residents have is the fairly large military presence on the island. If the presence were to downsize, then thousands of housing units would then be (hopefully) available to the state so people could buy and or rent. This could be very beneficial for getting people off the streets and into better living situations. One thing that is being done to help drop the cost of living is promoting the use of solar power throughout the island. It costs a good amount of money to invest in solar energy but once you do, the numbers seem to show that people will see a considerable drop in their monthly utility and electricity bills.
The more time and effort that people put into addressing and fixing the homelessness problem, the more results we will see. This is not a problem you can just sweep under the rug; it is a serious issue that is affecting one hundred million people worldwide. Enough is enough. Can you imagine not having a door to walk through every day and a bed to sleep in every night? Can you imagine not eating for two straight days because you have absolutely no source of income? It’s an awful thought, isn’t it? The goal of the solutions being proposed should be to limit those affects and help the people who need it most.
If you're interested in learning more about what has been going on concerning addressing problems and finding solutions to the homelessness problem in Hawaii, watch the very informative PBS special below:
“We are not a Disneyland paradise. The people here re in a very real struggle to survive, and they’re being displaced at a terrible rate,” Laulani Teale (an advocate for the homeless) stated. All the beaches, waterfalls, lush plants and flowers are beautiful traits of the islands but homelessness is certainly not. There is nothing beautiful about it and like Laulani said, it is a serious struggle of life and death for many who are affected by the problem at hand.
Large-scale luxury construction projects, mostly on Oahu, are underscoring the lack of affordable housing big-time. There aren’t many solutions for cutting back construction like this because the government will most likely profit in some way from the outcomes of these projects. Therefore, there is not a huge concern in preventing these construction projects from taking way. Another concern residents have is the fairly large military presence on the island. If the presence were to downsize, then thousands of housing units would then be (hopefully) available to the state so people could buy and or rent. This could be very beneficial for getting people off the streets and into better living situations. One thing that is being done to help drop the cost of living is promoting the use of solar power throughout the island. It costs a good amount of money to invest in solar energy but once you do, the numbers seem to show that people will see a considerable drop in their monthly utility and electricity bills.
The more time and effort that people put into addressing and fixing the homelessness problem, the more results we will see. This is not a problem you can just sweep under the rug; it is a serious issue that is affecting one hundred million people worldwide. Enough is enough. Can you imagine not having a door to walk through every day and a bed to sleep in every night? Can you imagine not eating for two straight days because you have absolutely no source of income? It’s an awful thought, isn’t it? The goal of the solutions being proposed should be to limit those affects and help the people who need it most.
If you're interested in learning more about what has been going on concerning addressing problems and finding solutions to the homelessness problem in Hawaii, watch the very informative PBS special below: