What can we do to help the homeless?

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

Having been a neighborhood board chair and some experience with affordable housing issues, I have a few perspectives.

Homelessness is largely caused by a low unemployment rate. This first came from a few discussions with the city's fair housing officer, Mike Shiroma. He looks at price of housing as part of his job and he saw this as a trend. I raised this observation with a homeless advocate that was running a shelter in our neighborhood and she agreed with the observation.

I juss came back. I gotta catch up reading. I'll be back...I got plenty tings to do today but I'll be back!

Auntie Lynn

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

K-den. I'm back. I dunno wea they wen get their information from but dey betta go back to the drawing board cause das wrong. Das not reality. I live REALITY! hELLO???????

Dey like see what is Homelessness>>>>come spend a day with me. I'll take them in the core of what is. Let them talk to the people up front and ask what got them there.

Plezzzzzzzzz. Information. Statistics. Lets face the Realty and the Truth instead of looking at information in rooms and grumbling on what can be done and doing things. It is only then when we move our arces that the problems of Homelessness will infact become reachable.

Auntie Lynn

[damontucker]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

Auntie... Please give me info on how I can assist the Kau Kau wagon on thanksgiving day....(I can't cook...however, I'm willing to serve)

Since my ohana won't be with me... I'd like to join the "street" ohana for the day.

[Kahalu'u Kid]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

We should kick the Stryker Brigade out on the West Side, and give a few acres near the mountains for the homeless to make their own little self-sustained community. They could plant kalo and fruit trees, fish, hunt and live off the land how real Hawaiians should. I believe this would motivate them to work for their future. Aloha.

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

Howzit! dis is Auntie Lynn! Kalona808 asked me to Post dis for her but I am also asking for Kokua. As you all know this is also my passion! It started last year when she put the call out on HT last year!

Mahalo

Auntie Lynn

Aloha All

It's that time again. The Kau Kau is requesting your support for our annual Thanksgiving of Hope Dinner. Every year for 20 years we celebrate the holidays with those who are not able to have a hot holiday meal.

EVERY week all year long we bring food, juice, snacks and sometimes cloths, toiletries and other items when we get them.

Our meal represents more then just a belly full of Ono food, it represents the hope of a whole community coming together in unity, caring about the well being of others and providing a moment of Hope for those who may have little or none. Never underestimate the value and power of hope.

When I was young I was one of those who had lil to nothing. The holiday season was extra tough. I would always be wishing it away. But inside me was a dream that one day I and others could make those joyous holidays be real for everyone.

The Kau Kau Wagon and it's many volunteers made that dream a reality for me and those who need it most. How can you ever find enough ways to say thank you for that, I am not sure I will ever know.

The most amazing part is how most of us walk away at the end of the day feeling like we got so much more then we could ever give. That moment in time makes a smile in the soul last forever.

We have come a very long way thanks to ALL of you! Every year the hearts of aloha and hope shared, grows tremendously. We are blessed. We meet the best of the best. Last year we actually had live music. It was wonderful!.

There could never be enough times and ways to say MAHALO to each of you for creating and making this event of hope come to the awesome reality it has been and will hopefully continue to be. LET'S DO IT AGAIN and even better!!! We have never yet to fail out doing each year!!!!

MAHALO NUI LOA
From ALL of us at the KAU KAU WAGON
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

DATE: NOVEMBER 25th Saturday 2006 TIME: 1:00pm Serving
12:00pm we will be setting up and accepting drops off items.

PLACE: Gateway Park, downtown Corner of Bethel Street and Hotel Street, next to Hawaii Theater.

****#1 FOOD ITEMS NEEDED:

25-30 Hot TURKEYS fully cooked, sliced and ready to serve

5-6 gallons of hot TURKEY GRAVY ready to serve

20 Hot HAMS fully cooked, sliced and ready to serve

45 hot large pans of STUFFING ready to serve

45 hot pans ready to serve YAMS

600 servings of hot ready to serve RICE

700 servings of CORN hot and ready to serve

700 servings of STRINGBEANS hot and ready to serve

15 large pans of ready to serve CRANBERRY SAUCE

35 Dozen DINNER ROLLS

70 PIES sliced and ready to serve

10 cans of WHIPPED CREAM

600 servings of FRESH FRUIT, Apples, bananas, oranges etc.

700 servings of SNACKS, Such as sealed crackers, small candy treats, any bagged items edible that do not need to be refrigerated or special stored.

30 GALLONS OF JUICE OR OTHER READY SERVE BEVERAGE


***NON FOOD ITEMS WANTED:

800 each PLASTIC, FORKS, KNIVES, SPOONS

1000 DINNER PAPER PLATES and NAPKINS

700 PIE PAPER PLATES

700 CUPS

12 PAPER TABLE COVERS

15 TABLES and approximately 50 folding chairs

10 POP UP TENTS for covering the tables

400 TO GO CONTAINERS

ZIP LOCK BAGS

1 large ROLL OF FOIL

12 TARPS FOR THE GROUND

TOILETRY ITEMS such as soaps, shampoos, toothbrushes, tooth paste, blankets, sheets, etc....no razors please lol

OLD CLOTHS, SLIPPAHS, TOWELS, WASHCLOTHS,

************OUR WISH LIST**********

LIVE MUSIC,

FAST FOOD GIFT CERTIFICATES such as McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King etc., would be great!!! It would allow those we serve to get a hot meal when we are not there or if we run out of food on our regular weekends of service.

Bus Passes

Umbrellas

A FREE SERVICE THAT YOU COULD PROVIDE such as haircuts, dental, advise would be a wonderful bonus of help.

A generator to help us expand the kinds of food we bring. Right now we make mostly sandwiches. Sometimes when we have enough we make hot dogs and or other hot foods. We would love to be able to provide more hot meals.

FINALLY THE BIGGEST HOPE OF NEED FOR US IS.............

***A SECURE STORAGE AREA OF APPROXIMATELY 400ft, easy to access with our van, where we can store all year round our KAU KAU WAGON donations and operating and supply items.

This year we purchased a few hot dog carts so we can serve hot dogs and try and sell some at events so that we can be able to better financially continue on doing what we do all year. We HOPE to be able to make enough financially to help our program and other programs as well. We are not government funded. Most funds are out of pocket from those of us who volunteer. A storage area would really make a huge difference for us. It's a BIG dream.

MAHALO AGAIN ! HAVE A WONDERFUL SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON!
We can be reached at 808 398 6665

Please feel free to leave a message if we are not able to answer your call. Our phone service on this line isn't always the best. So please if we have not returned your call, call us back. Your call is important to us.

MAHALO FROM ALL OF US AT THE KAU KAU WAGON
You can also e-mail us at
KauKauWagon@aol.com

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

In The StarBulletin this morning! http://starbulletin.com/2006/11/13/news/story05.html
UH med students treat homeless’ social health

They serve drinks and act as mentors during Coffee Hour

By Robert Shikina

"Alana Sasaki and several other volunteers recently served 100 cups of coffee during the grand opening of Coffee Hour, a new social program to help residents living at the Next Step shelter in Kakaako.

"I think that brightens their day a little that they know someone cares about them," she said."

"Coffee Hour, the brainchild of Sasaki, a first-year medical student at the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine, is held at the shelter Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m."

"I learned that we have to keep going back," Sasaki said. "We just have to be there to help. Sometimes, just listen to what they want and provide a consistent support every week." Although UH's medical school already operates the Hawaii HOME project, a student-run clinic providing basic medical needs at the shelter, Coffee Hour embraces a different theme, addressing the residents' social health."

Wow! Awesome! Our future Doctors have heart and compassion juss like the old days! It's not all about money.

Also, here's an update on what is still needed for KauKau Wagon Thanksgiving Saturday: Hams, yams, cranberry sauce, pies, fresh fruit and snacks.

Mahalo

Auntie Lynn

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

In the StarBulletin this morning http://starbulletin.com/2006/11/14/news/story05.html

Support for homeless next step

A tour of the island on foot aims to build awareness
By Robert Shikina

"Utu Langi knows the pain is worth it to tell people about the plight of the homeless.

Langi started the 140-mile, 10-day walk Wednesday from downtown to raise money for the homeless as part of this week's Homeless Awareness Week 2006. He passed through Haleiwa yesterday and continued on the seventh leg today.

Langi will end his second "Walk the Talk, Shelter the Homeless" walk around the island at the largest event Friday, including sign waving at the state Capitol, entertainment by Chinky Mahoe's halau, live music and slam poetry. There also will be a candlelight vigil honoring those who died while homeless."

"Homeless Awareness Week events are taking place this week on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island, with each mayor signing a proclamation.

Homeless Awareness Week
The following events are planned:

Oahu
Nov. 8-15: "Walk the Talk, Shelter the People" second annual walk around the Island with Utu Langi to raise awareness of homelessness. The walk will end Nov. 15 with a candlelight vigil at the state Capitol. Call Samiana Langi at 808-497-0962 or samiania@h5hawaii.org.

Wednesday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.: "Unlocking the Door: The Key to Ending Homelessness," a statewide forum at the Waikiki Beach Marriott on Oahu to discuss ways of alleviating homelessness. Contact Bruce Newman at 541-332-0703 or bnewman@rcac.org.

Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.: "Bridges Out of Poverty Workshop" with inspirational speaker Jodi Pfarr at Catholic Charities Hawaii Community Center, 1822 Keeaumoku St. To register, contact Laura Thielen at 808-497-4175 or lthielen@hawaii.rr.com.

Friday, 2 p.m.: Mayor Mufi Hannemann signs homeless awareness proclamation at Honolulu Hale.

Friday, 4:30-7 p.m.: Annual candlelight vigil at the state Capitol's Father Damien statue with live entertainment, stories of survival by the homeless and Hale Aloha Award ceremony for individuals' outstanding commitment to ending homelessness. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Laura Thielen at 808-497-4175.

Maui
Friday: Sixth annual health fair for the homeless, Salvation Army, 45 W. Kamehameha Ave. Call Ed Gazmes at 808-877-5818.

Kauai
Friday, 4-6:30 p.m.: Candlelight vigil, Historic County Building, with sign waving and turkey dinner. Call Stephanie Fernandez at 808-245-4075.

Big Island
Nov. 1-14: Youth-led Service Learning Food Drive. Call Thelma Tayaman at 808-326-7778.

Nov. 12-18: East Hawaii school drives. Contact Heather Bowlan at 808-933-6002.

Nov. 17-19: "Truly Dually," a musical performance about homelessness at Aloha Theatre in Kona. Call Brandee Menino at 808-933-6013.

Nov. 24, 10 a.m.: Blessing for the Friendly Place with Bishop Clarence Silva, 74-5593 Pawai Place, Kailua-Kona. Call Brandee Menino at 808-933-6013."

On March 27, 2006 ~ Langi and I walked side by side leading the Homeless out of Ala Moana Park to City Hall. If my legs are better...I will walk along side of him for a bit. I will be there at the State Capital on November 15!


(Da picture Dick took at Ala Moana Beach Park.

Auntie Lynn

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

In The Advertiser this morning: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ap...11230346/1001/

On O'ahu, many remain in need

Help our neighbors in need

By Mary Vorsino

"It hurts Melanie Martin to think about her kids getting teased at school.

Martin, 30, her husband and three children were evicted in June from a Kalihi apartment, where they paid $650 a month. They could not find an affordable house and so relied on relatives for temporary shelter.

In September, the family was invited to move into one room at the Ohana Family of Living God church. But they had to leave yesterday, and are now without shelter again. They planned to treat themselves to a motel room for Thanksgiving.

The Martin family does have some good news: After nearly three years of unemployment, Martin's husband got a job in September.

Now, he leaves at 4 a.m. and works 10 hours a day, six days a week at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. During the day, Martin takes care of her 1-year-old and shuttles her daughter, 12, and 6-year-old son to school.

They have no leads in their house search. Martin is pregnant, and the family's fourth child is due in March. For Christmas, she said, she wants a house. While they were at the church, the kids were happier and felt more secure.

Martin said the family is grateful for what they have, which is mostly each other."

It hurts me too when I read stories like these. But it makes me agry also. Why? Because for a family that is already having a hard time and "Homeless," a father who is umployed ~ why keep getting babies? The only reason would be for the Benefits of receiving Public Assistance. Harsh answer but that's the facts.

I make no apologies.

Auntie Lynn

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

In The Starbulletin http://starbulletin.com/2006/11/25/news/story07.html

State gets details on needs of homeless
By Gene Park

"Recent research has taken a snapshot of who uses homeless services across the state, and the information will serve those, in turn, who provide services.

The University of Hawaii's Center on the Family released its "Homeless Service Utilization Report: Hawaii 2006" this month. The information from shelter services, outreach programs and 17 providers in 2005 can now be used by the state in allocating how and where it needs to extend its outreach services, said Sandra Miyoshi, director of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority's homeless programs branch.

In all, 5,659 people used homeless services in 2005. About a third of those were under 17.

The report was compiled by Michael Ullman, Marika Ripke, Sylvia Yuen and Sarah Yuan."

Everybody knows our Homeless population exceeds that amount. They are using the findings of "five students?" I no tink so! Dat is so wrong...so WRONG!

I know of Volunteers who can get the same information accurately from the Homeless.
Volunteers who know the Districts and the people they serve day in and day out. They know what the Homeless are asking and crying out for. Everywhere you turn someone is Homeless. The numbers are growing. It's not going to subside.

Personally, I'd love to see a Homeless Shelter again like the one my children and I stayed in ~ Kokea Homeless Shelter For Women and Children. It was like any Apartment Dwelling. We had our Privacy and our own Unit. We paid rent based on our income. The difference ~ we had to attend meetings and classes. A small price to pay for shelter. We stayed there six months. Six months to make us appreciate everything we have in Life and to never forget those we left behind.

Auntie Lynn

[AbsolutChaos]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

Gift wrap your old/used clothing and donate it this weekend!

See Honolulu Weekly's "Pay It Forward"

[Miulang]

Hawai'i 4th worst for homeless

The National Alliance for the Homeless released a report that showed that Hawai'i ranked #4 in the number of homeless people.

The report, which was based on results compiled in January 2005, said Hawai'i's nearly 6,000 sheltered and unsheltered homeless population was 0.47 percent of the state's 1.2 million residents — putting the state behind only Nevada, Rhode Island and California in the percentage of their population that was homeless.

"I would bet that we are No. 1 now," Park said. "Because the number of homeless grew here after 2005 — and it grew significantly in 2006.

..."I think it is getting worse," said Jo Jordan, who chairs the parks committee for the Wai'anae Coast Neighborhood Board. "And I don't believe it's because of the toothpaste effect — you know, squeeze the tube and they all congregate in one section. I think there are more new people being added to the mix."

Still, Park said the number of homeless people living on the coast easily constitutes the largest population of its kind in the state.

"I would say that a large majority of Hawai'i's homeless population is on the Wai'anae Coast," Park said. "That I know for sure. There are thousands of homeless out there."

He said the state is planning a strategy to compile the most comprehensive count yet of Wai'anae's total homeless population this year.

Jordan said by all accounts the people joining the ranks of the homeless recently are not people coming in from outside the Wai'anae community. She suspects they are part of the community's "hidden homeless" — that vast unseen number of people experts believe have lost their homes to rapidly rising rents and who have temporarily taken up residence with relatives and friends.

Miulang

[joshuatree]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

One of the hurdles for homeless people to get over is having a "permanent address" to take care of legal things. Why can't the state set up a PO Box system for them? And not give addresses like "P.O. Box 12345, etc." but rather boxes with street names like "123 Manapua Dr" because some places simply refuse PO Boxes when they see them. That won't solve everything but at least that's a good solid starting point.

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

For the Homeless that live in Shelters they are able to use the Shelter's address such as IHS and the one at Kakaako. Many who live on the streets find addresses from businesses or people willing to have them use their address to get their mail. Some charge while others don't. I never did.

Once again, there are many categories of Homeless People. Many do not want Help. It's the way they WANT to LIVE. For others ~ it's not a matter of choice due to the reality of high cost of rent escalating beyond what anyone would have imagined.

The domino effect is gonna hurt us ALL.

Auntie Lynn

[joshuatree]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

I guess for those that don't live in shelters, wouldn't it be more stable if they had their own PO Box provided by the state? So it adds a little more stability into their lives?

As for those who choose to live that way, I dunno. Are you saying they can afford to live in a home but choose not to? If that's the case, I really have little sympathy for what basically is squatting on public lands. Maybe you can fill me in if I misinterpreted?

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

I guess for those that don't live in shelters, wouldn't it be more stable if they had their own PO Box provided by the state? So it adds a little more stability into their lives?

As for those who choose to live that way, I dunno. Are you saying they can afford to live in a home but choose not to? If that's the case, I really have little sympathy for what basically is squatting on public lands. Maybe you can fill me in if I misinterpreted?

Having a personal P.O. Box is not going to make one's LIFE stable. To your next question. We've covered the various "categories" of Homelessness before. Yes, many can afford to pay rent and live in dwellings but choose not. Our own "Albert" the Panther one day just up and left. That doesn't make him a bad person or one that is a nuisance to society. In fact, he is regarded as a genius!

For many...they suffer from Dual diagnosis sometimes more. Drug, Alcohol, Mental and Physical ailments. Do we stop giving them Sympathy? I think not but that's my opinion.

It's not easy to live on the Streets. In the cold and or heat summer nights. Having no food or place to call home. No family. No place to relax when you're sick. People stare because you're dirty cause there's no place to bathe.

Yes, we have a PROBLEM. And no matter how much they take up places to rest and sleep ~ I have Sympathy for them ALL.

Auntie Lynn