DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COMDozens of volunteers, assisted by the Institute of Human Services, cleared out the belongings and other debris yesterday that had accumulated along Kaaahi Street from homeless who had been living on the sidewalk for the past year. Honolulu Police Officer Brad Yamada, left, and Maj. Kurt Kendro lifted some trash yesterday. CLICK FOR LARGE |
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Kaaahi Street cleaned out
The community pitches in to remove belongings of curbside dwellers
Once strewn with chairs, mattresses, bins and other belongings, the sidewalks along Kaaahi Street were cleared and cleaned yesterday of the homeless and their belongings.
About 15 people who had been living on the sidewalk for the past year were given notice three weeks ago that they would have to leave.
When police arrived by 7 a.m., an hour before the cleanup, all of the homeless had already left, said Honolulu police Maj. Kurt Kendro.
Businesses on Kaaahi Street, Kaaahi Place and Kaamahu Place had been complaining about personal belongings piling up on the street as the homeless became situated there.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COMLaw enforcement agencies and area businesses cleaned up Kaaahi Street near the Institute for Human Services yesterday. A group of homeless people living outside the shelter were told to move after complaints about debris along the street. CLICK FOR LARGE |
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The Institute for Human Services homeless shelter is located on Kaaahi Street.
Some of the homeless had expressed interest in signing up with the IHS, which recently increased its beds from 60 to 70, said IHS spokeswoman Kate Bepko.
"If they didn't want to stay at IHS, we gave them a homeless help card, with lots of options of places to go," Bepko said. "Because nobody should be sleeping in the street. It's not safe for them, or anyone."
As many as 50 volunteers from nearby businesses, IHS, a transitional housing shelter and federal probation officers spent the morning gathering up belongings left behind by the homeless.
Several chairs, bins and bags of trash were left behind, and the sidewalks were cleared and water-blasted.
"It was an eyesore every day coming to work," said Gary Soares, an employee of General Printing. "They're always asking me for money or cigarettes when I come into work. I hope they don't come back, because this is how it's supposed to be."
Police Lt. Kent Harada commended the neighborhood for taking action.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COMWith the streets and sidewalks clean of rubbish, Kalani Alapai of the Federal Probation Office power-washed the sidewalk in front of Richard's Meat Market. CLICK FOR LARGE |
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"It's a community social issue because those guys got no place to go," he said. "The police can't do it themselves. The community needs to be the leader in a lot of these efforts."
Now that the sidewalks are open again on Kaaahi Street, the businesses and tenants plan to hold weekly cleanups every Thursday.
Dwight Min, owner of Min Plastics and Supply Inc., a plexiglass distributor on Kaamahu Place, provided supplies such as gloves, trash bags and shovels for the cleanup.
"This is the first time I've seen the sidewalk and the street cleaned of all vehicles and homeless belongings in over 10 years," he said. "It's beautiful."
Although happy that the street was cleared, he acknowledged that the homeless were probably moving to another location in the city.
"This is not the solution to the homeless situation," he said.
Star-Bulletin reporter Robert Shikina contributed to this story.