Home is where the heart is...


 

It was a few weeks ago when I noticed an article in the local paper (Garden Island) in which a friend of mine, Gary Hooser, was relating comments made to him by an anonymous gentleman while at the beach. Well, this is Kaua’i. The beach is one place to find (and interact with) homeless folks without difficulty. As the gentleman was pointing out that they were “all over the place,” and a few other familiar quips.

We (here on the island) all know those little snippets, sometimes peppered with ha’ole attempts at a local accent, keep coming up when there is a certain strata of what I prefer to call “not-so-monied-but-self-entitled” talk about being homeless. This type of folk was one I was quite familiar with; just before my gender change (‘83) I had a net worth of over $1M. It was earned, and I was a banking officer.

That all changed after two bankruptcies, short years apart, both resulting from insured medical catastrophes. It takes no time at all, despite best efforts, to end up back at the bottom with nothing...even with a very good job and a home.

Then came 2006, with a lead-in of severe PTSD along with several physical challenges that became overwhelming, along with not having any connection with the VA to try to help (not VA’s fault). Dad passed. I’d become disillusioned with the Hawaiian social services venue. My personal doctor, a very competent, well-meaning family MD, did not understand what was being presented; I was misdiagnosed with “only” severe depression. I was also over-medicated (again, no fault...much more to it) with things that only made the frame of mind worse.

I screwed up several very important relationships, personal and business, and ended up trying to take my own life in ‘07.

In short, I was homeless. No funds, no resources. I spent some time living out of my car, then finally snagging Social Security with an early enrollment, and found an SRO next to a bus stop in Waimea. All this time, my past (80s-90s) of schlepping under the highway overpasses and knocking on cardboard boxes (very carefully, mind you), helping homeless better their position, kept playing like an augmented reality episode.

Gary knows me pretty well, even though I think we’ve only been F2F a few times in 20+ years. I’m a retired behavioral scientist whom has worked with at risk populations most of my life; and I’ve worked disaster response most all of those years as well. He and I have seen the inside of the EOC (while stood up) more than most. I’ve run homeless programs.

Yet, yes...I know homelessness. I know all the dynamics from the top down.

More importantly, though, I felt I had to just put this out there, even if some of it seems trite and even pollyanna-ish.

“Send them back to where they came from!” Sure...is that plantation shack still available on your street? Good! That’s where they came from...before a local biz went under, and they lost everything as they had no savings or reserve. Folks don’t spend hundreds for air fare to come to Kaua’i because the weather’s better so they can live on the beach.

“Just get a job and an apartment!” Anyone who actually believes this bit either failed first-grade math, or that a living wage exists here. First, minimum wage for one person will not  pay for a studio (SRO) that’s decent. Shared quarters are nearly as difficult to work out. Multiple jobs is often the “solution,” which just puts more folks in health jeopardy.

“Why are they always in our faces? Makes us look bad to the visitors!” They’re “In your face” because your face is present in their residence...ie., the beach. Maybe you sent a verbal jab or two their way.

What are we supposed to do? Simple. If the person is genuinely harassing you, and you believe they’re homeless, treat them as you would any other yahoo harassing you. Being homeless is generally not a license for civil disrespect. The last thing a homeless person wants is to be seen as a nuisance, by the way. They depend on generosity of reasonable people, and being a nuisance is not seen as a way to survive, but to end up incarcerated.

The real bottom line is that there is no reasonable inventory of truly affordable housing on this island. The reasons for that are not complicated (but are actually well known by interested, monied, parties), but also aren’t going to be solved by a “me first and thee after” mentality...and I don’t see such a mentality being a part of the Hawaiian belief and culture in any way.

I don’t have the answer. I won’t, however, be silent when “entitled” people make life more difficult than it already is for folks on the skids.

Anyway...that’s the “bilge” for today (sailors keep quiet).

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