Homeless in Hawaii

In Hawaii, while on your vacation, you may notice we have a homeless problem just as you do where you live. When you think about it, it’s a wonder that our problem isn’t a lot greater, considering how much more comfortable it must be to be homeless in Hawaii than it is in, say, Chicago. You’d think every Hawaii-bound ship would be loaded with homeless stowaways who recognize that.

There’s a definite hierarchy among Hawaii’s homeless. We have the lonely mentally ill, who simply have no one to take care of them, no means of taking care of themselves and no social structure from the government to help. We have the lazy and indolent, who would rather beg and pick trash than clean up and find work. We have the working homeless — people with jobs who have children in school and who manage their responsibilities, but cannot afford places to live other than their cars.

And we have the wily homeless — charming wayfarers who use their wits and always seem to get along just fine without a place to actually call home.

Many of the latter group once were vacationers who just hung around.

Here’s a sample scenario. You can imagine how many variations of this theme there might be.

Your local family is enjoying a Sunday at the beach. Couple of kids, a cooler, beach chairs, some cold drinks and sandwiches and some snacks. It’s a beautiful day. A nice-looking young man lays out a blanket nearby and then spends some time in the surf. When he gets back to his blanket, he towels off and flashes a gleaming smile. As your family begins to dive into the food and drinks, you notice that he is alert to your activity and you offer to share. He gratefully accepts and pulls his blanket over next to yours.

Nice guy. Very polite. Seemingly very bright. He says he’s been on the island for his vacation; now is giving thought to extending his stay and testing the job market. He’s a specialist in dolphin studies based in Miami, Florida and works on projects around the world, most recently in South Africa.

One thing leads to another. He just checked out of his hotel, he says, in anticipation of flying out that evening, but the beautiful day at the beach has pretty much changed his mind.

Hey, you’ve got room! The couch on your enclosed lanai at home is comfortable and he’d even have his own bathroom. He could stay there until he finds something else and while he looks for work. Maybe the Oceanic Institute just down the road on the east coast of Oahu is looking for help.

This guy is going to be with you for at least two weeks, enjoying your breakfasts and dinners and spending his days in the surf as he allegedly looks for work during the day. He’ll pitch in with little jobs around the house and entertain the family with funny stories during meals. Then he’ll move on because, charming as he is, he really is kind of in the way. As much as you hate to do it, you have to ask him to make other plans.

No problem. He’ll simply move on to another part of the island, find another family on another beach, and repeat the process. He may well be around for years.

He certainly isn’t someone easily identified as a “homeless person,” but there he is. We who live in Hawaii bring it on ourselves. We’re welcoming, we enjoy sharing, and we like to show off all the things these islands offer.

We’ll never learn.

Posted by Jim Winpenny

Published by Bruce Fisher

Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.

Entry Filed under: Fun Stuff,Hawaiiana

March 11th, 2009

4 Comments Add your own

1. Debo Hobo | March 12th, 2009 at 9:53 am

As beautiful as it is out there I can definitely see myself parlaying a day into two weeks.

I don’t blame the guy one bit. Oh and I am not above pitching a tent either.
2. Mr. Constantine Nightingdale | July 2nd, 2010 at 12:37 am

2010 Hawaii is in a crisis with many problems – The Hawaiian Islands has approximately 22,000 to 28,000 homeless with 10,000 of them being on the Island of Oahu. Hawaii also has an incarcerated population of 4,000 to 6,000 in prison (due to the high costs and overcrowding, approximately 2,000 of Hawaii’s incarcerated men have been moved to Arizona), 8,000 to 10,000 are on probation & there are approximately 4,000 kids whose parents are in prison. Studies show that 90% of these kids will end up in prison like their parents in Hawaii or those sent to Arizona. There are 1,400 kids waiting to be adopted (40% of these kids are Hawaiian) in Hawaii.

Hawaii has 100 active gangs that have an overall total of 4,000 to 6,000 gang members (gang markings are in almost every community in Hawaii with graffiti & shoes hanging from telephone wires). Every month, one woman dies due to “Domestic Violence” & likewise, one person is committing suicide. Hawaii is rated 5th in the US for the drug use of Methamphetamine, also simply known as Meth. Hawaii was once #1 for Meth use.

These statistics go on and on from divorce (within 5 to 8 years 50% of married couples divorce in Hawaii), bankruptcy, foreclosure, crime, freeway racing, legal issues, immigrant issues, hepatitis B & C, HIV/AIDS, housing/shelter, mental health, medical care, sex abuse, alcohol, financial, & etc. In being a State for 51 years, these are some of the problems, but what are the solutions? What does Hawaii’s future look like? Hawaii’s buildings & lands are starting to look dirty with vandalism, rubbish, uncut grass, and piles of furniture in communities just waiting for the City & County of Honolulu to dispose. There are many other issues that are turning Hawaii from one of the most exotic places to visit in the world to another state that cost too much to visit let alone live in.

There are 150 Dream Centers around the world to help people that are in need like the homeless, gang members, the incarcerated & etc. There is a 204 acre project that is dedicated to helping Hawaii’s people in need and will make a paradigm shift like never before to address Hawaii’s ever growing social ills . If you have ever visited Hawaii before and would like to help, please visit http://www.hawaiidreamservicecenter.org
3. Bruce Fisher | July 2nd, 2010 at 7:28 am

Mahalo nui for sharing the information about the Dream centers, much appreciated!!
4. AngelGroup | December 23rd, 2010 at 3:33 am

It's really true that Hawaii's family courts (divorce and child custody) – with the assistance of a few renegade judges (like Keith Tanaka on Maui) who are legislating from the bench, disregarding statutory law, etc – are creating a "hidden homeless" that is increasingly dependent on state aid, whether they want to be or not.
Add to that, a family court system nationwide, where perpetrators of domestic violence are given custody of the children 58% of the time, and we are creating a future generation who will emulate their abusive parent; taxing the courts, police, social services, etc. Perhaps that's the goal of the judiciary…job security.

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