Homeless plan splits community

Students attending the HPU Downtown Campus know about those people who hang out all day at Fort Street Mall with no place to go: The homeless. They ask for money and they seem to need help to get off the street.

The City of Honolulu and the Catholic Church are backing “The River Street Project” under the concept of “Housing First” for homeless.

They plan a 100-unit residence on city property, at River Street and Vineyard Boulevard, three blocks from the HPU campus.

The project would provide permanent shelter to homeless people with mental illnesses or drug problems and provide treatment. About 60 units would go to the homeless and 40 to the mentally ill.

The project has generated strong community opposition. About 200 Chinatown residents showed their opposition to the project at a March 28 rally.

On April 25, a rally will be held to support the project, starting at the Lady of Peace Cathedral on Fort Street Mall at 1 pm. The rally will start with a prayer service and then participants will march to the River Street site.

“I would encourage everyone who cares about homeless people in Hawai‘i to come to this rally to show their support for a “Housing First” River Street Residences, solution which has proven to work in helping homeless people get off the street and become stabilized,” said Marya Grambs, Executive Director of Mental Health America of Hawai‘i.

Supporters say this kind of project has helped homeless in Seattle and other big cities on the mainland, but many in the Downtown and Chinatown communities strongly oppose the plan.

“It is the right project in the wrong place,” said Victor Lim, owner of McDonalds on Fort Street Mall and chairman of Fort Street Mall Business Improvement District, adding: “This particular area has a lot of churches, and schools with young children”.

Since the medical treatment for the homeless in the planned apartments is strictly voluntary, people in and around Chinatown are concerned about their safety. Lim suggests building those units rather in industrial areas to not attract even more homeless people to downtown that could lead to increasing crime.

“There are security issues involved,“ says Karl Rhoads, State Rep for D-28th (Pālama, Chinatown, Downtown).

Patrick Downes from the Catholic church of Honolulu, who supports the project, said:

“This project will actually make the situation safer. Homeless people who are already sitting on the sidewalks will be put in residences and get
treatment.”