State lawmakers plan to reintroduce legislation next year to require the state to pay for one-way tickets to send homeless persons back to their home states to be reunited with family.

After visiting Keaau Beach Park in Makaha to examine the homeless situation yesterday, state Reps. Rida Cabanilla and John Mizuno discussed the reunification bill—one of a number of proposals to deal with homelessness.

“;There's a lot of ideas, it's just really hard to coordinate and make it go forward,”; Mizuno said.

The one-way ticket plan has been proposed in the past. Cabanilla and Mizuno said a lot of opposition came from airlines, who said they would lose money under the plan.

“;I think it's good for those who want to go back home,”; said David O'Brien, who is originally from Texas but now lives at Keaau Beach Park.

However, O'Brien said he likes it in Hawaii and would rather stay because he feels the problems on the mainland are “;not any better”; than in Hawaii.

O'Brien said that while a lot of homeless wish to be housed, many of his friends and neighbors at the park express no desire to leave.

“;I don't have the slightest answer to what you do with someone who does not want to go to any other place than this beach,”; he said. “;I feel as though there's a perception of a shelter being run like a prison.”;

O'Brien said staying at a shelter would mean having rules, adding that people who “;lived under their own rule for a long time”; would find it hard to accept restrictions such as a curfew or drug prohibition.

“;When you walk in there, you don't want to be treated like you're a felon,”; he said.

“;I know how to make it on the beach, I know how to survive,”; said Stanley Maka, who will make one year as a resident of the park this October. Previously, he lived at Maili Beach Park for more than three years.

Alice Greenwood, a resident of the beach for a little more than two years, said she feels a shelter will enforce rules which might not apply to everyone. She believes that the solution to homelessness is through individual attention.

“;Look at the situation. Analyze it. Get the social workers to help people that need help instead of just throwing them into one confined place,”; she said.

Greenwood said there are about 275 homeless who reside at Keaau Beach Park.