DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The "Houseless But Not Helpless" Christmas rally for the homeless yesterday at Ala Moana Park featured entertainment, food and free hepatitis testing. Relaxing after lunch were, counterclockwise from top, Hanser Onamwar, Kekoa Onamwar, Santa Kenchy, Rachel Manning, Hansen Resa and Altria Achime. CLICK FOR LARGE
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Homeless with hope
A group works with determination to get members into their own homes
SEVERAL months after the city kicked out hundreds of homeless at Ala Moana Park, several dozen gathered at the park yesterday for a "Houseless But Not Helpless" Christmas rally.
The gathering was staged by Laulima, a group of homeless working with community volunteers to care for and educate the homeless.
The group's ultimate goal, members said, is a roof over their heads. They are working on getting the documents and money necessary to purchase land for homes.
Volunteering for the group -- helping with the planning, setting up and cooking -- also means learning more about the homeless situation in Hawaii, said Nikki Guess, a 36-year-old mother with a 17-year-old daughter.
Although she wasn't among those living at the park before the city kicked them out for a park renovation, she lived with many of them at the makeshift Kakaako shelter that was set up shortly after.
Guess tutors special-needs children, but couldn't afford the rent with the wages she was earning. When she went to the Kakaako shelter earlier this year, she discovered that many of them had formed Laulima.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Volunteer and nurse Russ Koch tried to find a vein to draw blood from Marie Beltran for her free hepatitis test. Beltran winced and laughed at the same time, remaining good-natured through the four times it took before a vein was found. CLICK FOR LARGE
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For now, a Manoa resident was able to take her and her daughter in for a few weeks.
"I feel fortunate, because I actually have stuff to give away," Guess said. "That's why I'm helping out. Because unlike other groups, we're not going to give you any pity. We're both in the same situation, and we're trying to get out."
Guess said she has learned much about the lives homeless people are forced to live. Some want out, while others embrace it, she said.
Among those is 43-year-old Marie Beltran, who lives on Mokuleia Beach. She called the area the land of her ancestors and wishes to live like they did.
Despite her beliefs, she knows that others, especially immigrants, have not been raised in similar ways, and she got involved in Laulima to assist them.
"We welcome them to our shores, and our government doesn't help them and label them homeless," Beltran said. "Hawaiians was never like that."
Also at yesterday's rally were representatives from the Hepatitis Prevention, Education, Treatment and Support Network of Hawaii. They conducted free hepatitis testing.
"In the U.S., about 22 percent of the homeless have hepatitis C," said Ken Akinaka, the group's executive director.
The disease is spread through sharing of items like razors and toothbrushes. Akinaka said the group hopes to aid the homeless with prevention tips.