There are homeless people, from six to eight at any given time, living under the School Street overpass on Nuuanu Stream. Their excrement and rubbish are going into the stream. That's a disaster because people go crabbing and fishing, and kids go into the stream on the makai side. Can you help? Homeless problem
puts a strain on some parksThe area is roughly between Liliuokalani Botanical Garden and Foster Botanical Garden, both run by the city Department of Parks and Recreation.
Every four months, workers have had to haul away two to three pickup loads of trash, confirmed Carlton Luka, supervisor of both parks. The debris included "empty food containers, used clothing, cans, bottles, needles, dirty mattresses, blankets, broken furniture, ID cards, empty wallets and radios," he said.
On Tuesday, police found only adult males illegally camping there and told them to move on, said police Capt. Stephen Kornegay. Several officers were on hand, because such situations often involve drug users or those with outstanding arrest warrants, Kornegay said. That turned out not to be the case in this instance.
The situation would have been handled differently if children were involved, Kornegay said. In that case, a social worker assigned to the Honolulu Police Department's Project Outreach probably would have accompanied officers because it's not just the sanitation habits of illegal squatters that's the problem. There's the bigger issue of homelessness.
"Homelessness and mental illness are not crimes, but they come to police attention" because of complaints like yours, Kornegay said. Project Outreach tries to help the homeless, not just to roust them from public areas.
Meanwhile, in the future, try calling the state Health Department's Clean Water Branch, at 586-4309, to attack the issue from another angle.
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