WHY PANDER TO HOMELESS WHO DO NOT WANT TO CHANGE

No matter how clever the signs may be, giving cash to homeless beggars is just plain stupid.  Truth be told, the same applies to non-profits giving endless amounts of outreach to drug addicts, alcoholics and lazy people who take whatever is offered without any desire to better their situation.

There are any number of places that feed the homeless.  Noble idea, but how many of these homeless are truly 'hungry?  Does 'hunger' apply to individuals who get 318.00 in food stamps?  EBT receivers who sell their food stamps to buy alcohol, drugs or tobacco products?  How many starving people does one really see in the food lines?

Many of the homeless receive government benefits.  Cash.  Every month.  Is one really homeless if one makes the choice to not pay rent and use the cash received for drugs, alcohol or tobacco?

There are any number of non-profits in Hawaii who receive public monies to service the homeless.  The same pool of homeless are provided an endless stream of outreach effort by one non-profit organization after another.  Yet the number of homeless in Waikiki, Chinatown and Hawaii continues to grow.

The 'bright young things' in non-profits now want the public to believe that you can give housing to homeless folks without requiring any effort on the part of the receiver of such housing to change the behaviours that might place them in homelessness in the first place.

Call me cruel but I find it very hard to feel any sympathy for drug addicts or alcoholics who do not want to stop drinking or abusing drugs.  Better to do outreach to folks who really want to change their condition.

If it be true that most of the homeless are folks with mental problems, would we not be better served in providing better programmes to deal with mental illness?

Homelessness is not unique to Hawaii.  The homeless are to be found everywhere.   Truth be told there will always be homelessness.  Having a clever slogan that promises to end homelessness in ten years is not going to change that and is an out and out lie.

Mind, there are lots of 'bright young things' toiling away at a non-profit that need to fill out a resume or just make a living, and the public monies to be had seem to never end.  Guilt is a good way to keep the monies flowing.

CARE-A-VAN REPLIES

I want to reassure you that we do provide outreach every other week in Waikiki to our clients and all homeless we see while doing outreach. We also do night outreach once every two weeks in Waikiki. During outreach, we provide social services and referrals to different service agencies. We also inform them of the shelters that are available and pass out hygiene and snacks. We let new clients know about our services in our drop-in center and at our other locations. Many of the homeless in Waikiki are familiar clients to us. Our services are for all homeless, regardless of mental state or addiction as we aim to service all homeless that we encounter.

All of our services are free and voluntary. We can provide and inform individuals of our services, however, if they take our services is up to them.

Please, let me know if you have any other questions.

MICHELLE IP

Homeless Adult Coordinator

The Waikiki Health Center is responsible for operating an outreach programme to the homeless.  That programme is Care-A-Van.  I rather think that the reply received was from that part of their operation.

Waikiki Health Center is a wonderful resource for poor people to us to gain access to medical attention and on-going care with their health problems, physical or mental.  I have no argument with that.  

I wonder about the outreach programme to the homeless.  Does it really solve problems or does it pander to the homeless?

The reply received is so very "PC".  Does it really answer any questions?

It still bothers me that an outreach worker from Care-A-Van, visited a 'client' on the street and rang up an ambulance for the individual.  The 'client' may well have been feeling poorly, but he had a wheelchair, probably a bus pass, and could have got to hospital on his own.  I know of another homeless man who had a severely swollen leg, infected, and barely able to walk, and he was able to get self to hospital.  It did not cost hundreds of dollars to do that.

Makes one think that the 'bright young things' that do outreach, are pandering to the homeless and not mindful of the cost of rides in ambulances for individuals who might not require.  Mind, it is only 'public monies' and there is an endless stream of that...

The homeless in Waikiki are a clever lot.  Do you not think they already know where there can go?  They know and pick and choose what they want.  Mail service, EBT, free clothes.  The good stuff to be had with no strings attached.

OPEN LETTER TO WAIKIKI HEALTH CENTRE

Today I say one of your outreach workers administering to one of the homeless in Waikiki.

The homeless man in question is well known to you, as you have reached out to him in the past. Provided housing and even went so far as to deliver his medicines to his homeless address, a bus stop bench on the beach.

The homeless man in question is a raging alcoholic and seems to thrive on getting cash from the tourists who feel sorry for him. Might explain why he keep returning to his old living situation.

This was the first time I actually say one of your our reach workers in action. It made me wonder.

Why is this homeless man getting so much attention? Is he more worthy of help than any other homeless person in Waikiki?

When will someone from your organization do out rwach to some of the other needy homeless? Like a 70 year old man sleeping on a bench, or a older local man with swollen legs and bleeding sores?

When is enough, enough?

MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL

For many months last year I walked past a man who was camped out on a bench in Waikiki.  Had the very best spot on Waikiki Beach, just across the road from ABC stores and right in the middle of the beach where all of the tourists walk past.

This homeless person was a real piece of work.  He did not bathe, change clothes or even bother with using the toilet, he just went into his trousers.  To say that the homeless man stank would be an understand.  He was so disgustingly foul that he was a bio-hazard unto himself.

I spent many a morning chatting with this homeless, wanting desperately to understand why such a condition was to be found in Waikiki.  I learned that the homeless man was a raging alcoholic and that he was not interested in going to a shelter.  I learned that Waikiki Health Centre visited him on his bench and even brought his medicines to him.  When I asked the homeless man why he thought he should sit on the bench and make it foul for all, he told me it was his god given right to do that.  I learned that there was no shame to the man.  The homeless man even went so far to tell me that I was ruining his day by calling attention to his condition.

I asked many questions of folks who deal with homelessness in Waikiki.  I really wanted to know why nothing could be done for this man.

Time past and it came to pass that this homeless man was given a safe clean place to live.  The homeless man was removed from his bench on Waikiki.  From time to time I would see the man in Waikiki, still drinking heavily and slowly starting to show the signs of one yearning to return to the street.

Some time back the raging alcoholic showed up at a bus stop, right in from of a very busy ABC store on Kuhio.  He replaced his living situation yet again.

This homeless man is very comfortable living on the street.  He knows that his appearance makes folks feel sorry for.  He has quite the gift of chat, and is very clever in letting folks know that for a few dollars he might be able to get to hospital or get a meal.  He never tells the poor tourists that every dollar received is going to be spent on alcohol.

This morning I passed this homeless man on my walk.  I wondered how long he would be in this location.  I was in for a shock when I returned from my walk.

The homeless man was sitting in his wheel chair with a young chap providing his with assistance.  Turns out the young chap is with Waikiki Health Centre.  The homeless man is known to, and he was ringing up an ambulance to take the man to hospital.

Gobsmacked I was.  Not oft one sees one of the out reach workers for the homeless.  How strange that the homeless man was receiving even more help.  He must be one of the lucky 100 that are getting all of the attention these days.  WHY?  What good will come out of all the out reach.  This man has a serious alcohol problem and nothing is going to change that condition if the homeless man does not wish it.  This homeless man knows that money is to be had by being on the street, why go into housing where there is no cash to feed his lust for alcohol.

Waikiki Health Centre is reaching out to the homeless.  Might well be the wrong sort.  OR, it might be that the 'bright young things' doing out reach are not capable of understanding the nature of the condition.

I just know it is wrong to throw good money after bad.  VERY WRONG.