Every day around 11 a.m. on the medial strip on Kilauea Avenue across from the Kahala Mall, there sits a woman in a wheelchair, wrapped in a blanket, with an umbrella and holding a sign that says "mother/son homeless, please help." I understand her son deposits her there daily. This woman looks sick and probably doesn't even know her son is making a fool of her. Can anything be done for this woman? I've even thought that her son is making some money off her. Homeless mom and son
have refused assistanceThe woman - Connie Mitchell, 57 - said it was a joint decision with her son, James, 37, to plead for help in this public manner.
They said they have sought help at many agencies but have been forced by circumstances to live out of a car since the beginning of December. Connie Mitchell said she is a quadriplegic because of a traffic accident, and James said he is not working because she requires 24-hour care.
Connie Mitchell says all they want is a cottage where James can do care-taking work in exchange for part of the rent.
Although they say some passers-by have been nasty, others have given them food and money, up to $60 one day, as little as $1 and a papaya after four hours on Tuesday, when they were interviewed. Besides Kahala, they have done this in Pearlridge and Kailua.
"This is not a scam," James Mitchell insisted.
But police and people who know them paint a story of two people who have not tried to go beyond the kindness of strangers.
Honolulu police Capt. Scott Foster, executive officer of the East Honolulu District, said numerous complaints have been lodged against the two.
"Our officers, along with Sharon Black (HPD's homeless outreach worker) have talked with her, and she's refused any type of assistance. She said she's out here on her own behalf," Foster said Wednesday.
The Mitchells say police constantly harass them. But Foster said that's because it is against the law for them to be on the medial strip: "It is a form of obstructing traffic."
Officers have not cited nor arrested them so far.
"We've more or less tolerated them, (rather) than enforced the law," Foster said. But he said that may change because of the increasing number of complaints.
Some agencies said they could find no record of the Mitchells and/or are not equipped to house a severely disabled person.
But the Mitchells have been getting food, and used bath and laundry facilities, at the Angel Network Charities.
People who know them say the Mitchells have been offered help but are not willing to help themselves.
"They have been in and out of programs for years," one woman said. "But they want to be victims. xxx They are unwilling to do what's necessary to help themselves. As long as they are unwilling, the story will be the same."
Connie Mitchell says this panhandling is only temporary. She said they are on several waiting lists for homes and also hope to get a settlement from her accident.
- Farmers Road hedges will be trimmed
- IRS auto mileage allowance changes