BY TOM BROWER – When a natural disaster strikes and people become homeless, government reacts quickly to provide them shelter. Why should the response be any different during an economic crisis that gives rise to homelessness?
In the past three years, I have traveled outside Honolulu to New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Guess whose popular tourism spots have the worst homeless problem?
The reality is we will never be able to build enough shelters to house the State’s 4,000-plus homeless and it is inhumane to keep shuffling them around. “No loitering” laws only work when people have a place to go.
On the flip side, government needs to remove the homeless from areas of aesthetic, cultural and economic importance for the enjoyment of residents and visitors.
Hawaii residents are frustrated with government’s lack of response to this issue. Yet, whenever I talk to city and state officials, they always tell me they are doing a great deal. Perhaps they are only helping a certain type of homeless and not the more challenging and visible type, the chronically homeless, who refuse to go into shelters.
Our homeless problem has evolved; so too must government’s response. It is time for the Mayor’s and Governor’s Administration— the latter of which established the Kakaako Next Step homeless shelter — to take another step.
How can government continue using the same failed strategies to address homelessness? How is this different from the definition of ‘insanity’ (keep doing the same thing with the expectation of different results)?
As a legislator I understand first-hand that chronic homelessness does not offer easy solutions. The best place to start is often the simplest. I propose safe zones as a short-term, reasonable and do-able solution until things change and the number of homeless decrease. While not a new idea, I explored the feasibility of this solution this past legislative session, after speaking with advocates and service providers to address residents’ complaints about homelessness.
With the adoption of H.R. No. 62 (2010) by the House of Representatives— and continued community-sponsored discussions— homeless safe zones are being recognized as a cost-effective, compassionate alternative to homelessness.
I cannot force the State or City Administrations to follow my plan; I can only hope they see its value.
We know where we don’t want the homeless to be because they are already “camping” there, illegally. We can either designate areas where the homeless can be— or do nothing and let them continue to be everywhere.
If enough safe zones are created, the homeless cannot say they have “no place to go” and continue monopolizing our parks and sidewalks. They will now have a place to go. Should they choose not to go there, the homeless must understand, from this point forward, they will not have unlimited access for “camping” at popular spots. Being homeless should mean fewer options on where you can stay, not more.
For homeless service providers, safe zones would make it easier to track/ care for their clients and control the spread of infectious diseases, like hepatitis. For law enforcement, the homeless would be easier to remove from unauthorized spaces.
We have the manpower. Experienced and knowledgeable people— such as service providers, church groups and other volunteers— stand ready to help implement the safe zones.
All we need is the land. A pilot program could be implemented and tailored to whatever area is first identified to gauge the level of success before expanding to other parts of the State. Rules would be established to restrict “camping” to certain times and provide safety for safe zone residents as well as the community housing them. A minimum of amenities could be provided, such as ‘reasonable’ night security and bathroom facilities.
Whatever shape the solutions take will be no worse than what we have today.
Democracy is at its best when challenges are embraced instead of avoided as has been the case with chronic homelessness. In reality, it takes just as much energy to put up with or avoid problems as it does to fix them. I encourage the community to keep sharing their concerns with government officials until better results are achieved. Elected and appointed government officials, who have endless energy to campaign, need to maintain that energy level once in office to seek better solutions to our community problems.
Rep. Tom Brower, D-Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kakaako, is a 28 year Waikiki resident.
Back off the violence and govern like a human! https://premiercarts.com/index.html
Tom Brower, Thank you for showing us how emotionally un-evolved you really are. Your lack of compassion, complete disregard for others' property and "Might makes right" sledgehammer enforcement are an embarrassment to the Aloha State. Auwe!
Homeless people are a disease? It's so much easier to justify your criminal activity when you dehumanize those you attack, isn't it. I surmise from your statements above that you are far more concerned with appearance rather than substance. I don't know your religious affiliation, not that it matters really, but you should take a step back and examine your moral grounding. In every religion or code of ethics, kicking someone when they are down is wrong. Call it the Golden Rule, Karma, or Luke 6:31, the principle is found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, and in fact all world's major religions. I further contend that you are the aberration, not them. You've gone viral, congratulations. I hope to read in the very near future that you are the defendant in an ACLU lawsuit that seeks to uphold the rights of the defenseless you so gleefully swing your sledgehammer at.
"On the flip side, government needs to remove the homeless from areas of aesthetic, cultural and economic importance for the enjoyment of residents and visitors."
You have no place in government, because you clearly do not understand the limits of your authority, the rights that the Constitution affords people (including homeless people), or what basic morality is. You should be ashamed of yourself for your ignorant attitude. There is no excuse for not knowing any better in this day and age. Grow up.
When I read about this politician and his campaign to deal with the homeless problem by means of a sledgehammer I was astounded. What is this, Night Of The Broken Glass? To go after people with violence who aren't properly able to defend themselves is at best being a bully and worst creating "living space". Isn't this the land of the free? I thought so but perhaps I'm wrong. And whatever did happen to the 1,000 year reich? Oh yeah, gone in 12 years.
I was once homeless myself and I worked very hard to pull myself out of that condition. I consider myself fortunate and have become an asset to society. Some folks aren't as fortunate. They have issues they can't get past and if their presence is offending you that's your problem. If they're doing things like stealing or bothering people directly then they should be addressed with dignity because we live in a society of decency, not thugs with sledgehammers smashing things. Perhaps you should move to Russia and be as hateful as you want to be. What frightens me worse than your actions is the awful fact there are hateful people that elected you and they're Americans. Just get it over with, don those white hoods and burn some crosses, at least you'll be honest.
Please Rep. Brower, Stop harassing the homeless. Maybe you should shift your focus to helping rather than hurting. Your actions have NO place in a civilized community.
Anyone who voted for you should be ashamed of themselves. Your anti-social disorder coupled with your severe case of narcissism is astounding. I am well aware that politics breeds and feeds self-entitled, twisted, self-aggrandizing sub-humans, but you take the blue ribbon!
Fucking haole
Representative Brower,
I won't bother condemning your behavior with the sledgehammer. Many others, far more articulate than I, have already succeeded in doing so, and I think it's safe to say that the point has been made. Instead, I would like to address the following statement:
"The reality is we will never be able to build enough shelters to house the State's 4,000-plus homeless and it is inhumane to keep shuffling them around. "No loitering" laws only work when people have a place to go."
I couldn't agree more. Homeless shelters are not, and must not be thought of, as a solution to homelessness. They are a temporary support for people who have fallen on hard times. As a temporary support, they cannot effectively address chronic homelessness. Chronic homelessness is a long-term problem; it requires long-term solutions. Your safe zones would provide a place for people who are homeless to be, and that is a start. You suggest that these zones should provide minimum amenities, and that is also a start. You're moving in the right direction, but the solution is still temporary. I would like to propose a long-term (possibly permanent) solution. Build a non-profit intentional community and populate it with people who are homeless. Provide them with housing, clothing, and nutrition. Employ them within that same community to produce food and manufacture goods (as skilled craftsman, not assembly-line workers). Restrict the price of these goods to fifty percent or less above the cost of producing and transporting them (including the operating cost of the community itself), and direct-market them to low-income households. Consumers will buy them, because they will be inexpensive, quality products. These revenues can provide income for the people who are living in the community and producing the goods. Reserve 10-30% of the profit in a fund, earmarked for expansion of the intentional community, so as to provide more legitimate work opportunities to more people who are homeless. Disperse the rest of the profit to the employees, with their pay being a percentage of the profits (not an hourly wage basis), so that their financial reward is directly tied to their effort. Over time, the intentional community will house and employ your community's homeless population, while providing them genuine opportunities to pursue a higher standard of living. Should you, or anyone reading this post like to discuss this idea in greater detail, I invite you to contact me via email. My address is jbutton@murraystate.edu.
Regards,
Jayme Brandenburg
Tom Brower the reprehensible representative belongs in jail: terrorism is not a quality of leadership that belongs in Hawaiiti or any where else in this country. AT the very least he should be thrown out of the democratic party as well as his office. Why he is not in jail defies explanation. Does he get a pass because he is a big shot legislator? If a homeless person (or any one else) took a sledgehammer to his car or other property do you think they would be walking around free?
Vigilantism is not justified becouse he's frustrated with conditions in his district. The homeless have enough pressures on them to just survive, they don't need violent hostility from dispicable people like Brower. This kind of barbarous behavior only increases the problems on the street, increases desperation and encouages other violent outbursts.
The unhonerable representative Tom Brower has demonstrated his total lack of leadership qualifications and should(if there was any justice) be immediatly removed from office before he does more harm to the people of Hawaiia!!
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