Homelessness
By Larry Chun
Special to the Herald
November is the month Catholics remember their deceased loved ones. It is also when we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, showing gratitude to the Almighty for all he has bestowed on us.
We are reminded to be grateful. Most of us are faring OK. We have shelter and ample food. However, many in our state are not so blessed. Many are homeless and houseless for any number of reasons such as poverty, job loss, illness, drug addiction or mental illness.
The news media have done a good job making us aware of the scourge of homelessness in Hawaii and throughout the nation. On any given night, nearly 2,000 people on Oahu lack shelter. There are more homeless people on our Neighbor Islands.
During the third week of November, two outstanding conferences addressed the crisis. They were attended by both Gov. David Ige and Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell.
The Oahu Landlord Summit on Homelessness, Nov. 17 at Dole Cannery, was sponsored by the Hawaii Association of Realtors which picked up the full tab for the food, conference room and parking.
Partners in Care on Nov. 20 sponsored the statewide Homeless Awareness Conference at the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki. The governor and mayor gave outstanding presentations on their goals to mitigate the problem. Calling homelessness an “emergency crisis,” Gov. Ige has set up a select group to work on the issue. He has appointed Scott Morishige, an expert on homelessness, to be the Governor’s Coordinator on Homelessness.
Mayor Caldwell has initiated a “housing first” program which first gives chronic homeless persons places to live, followed by services to address the causes of their homelessness. The mayor wants to end homelessness for veterans on Oahu by the year’s end. He spoke passionately on this matter at both conferences. I remember former Secretary of the Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki five years ago expressing his desire to end veteran homelessness. That goal will not be met nationwide this year; but hopefully it’ll be achieved on Oahu.
Our senior political leaders are seriously addressing the crisis. However, homelessness needs to be everyone’s concern, especially the concern of all people of good will. Pope Francis and Bishop Larry Silva have expressed much compassion for the poor and the homeless.
What can the average person do? Many are already doing it. Alms-giving, writing to political leaders and the press, being better informed are just a few examples. The Catholic Church just had a second collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
Mayor Caldwell recognized landlords who have rented apartments to homeless veterans. If you are blessed with apartments to rent, could you consider doing the same? Many people only express negative views on homelessness to their elected officials. How about doing the opposite? Last, but not least, is prayer.
Sheltering those who do not have shelter is one of the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy.
Remember that Mary and Joseph sought shelter some 2,000 years ago. I believe every Catholic and person of goodwill can do something to alleviate the societal scourge of homelessness.
