There’s a neighborhood in Kona where a stray dog lives. The dog lives in an empty lot at the end of a cul-de-sac just above the subdivision. The community is gated and there are maybe 30 permanent residents living in it. Some of these residents feed the stray dog, having kept him alive for about seven years now.
There’s a neighborhood in Kona where a stray dog lives. The dog lives in an empty lot at the end of a cul-de-sac just above the subdivision. The community is gated and there are maybe 30 permanent residents living in it. Some of these residents feed the stray dog, having kept him alive for about seven years now.
I had heard about the dog but only saw him for myself for the first time last week. I can attest to the fact that, even though the dog is a little “skittery,” he is well fed and seems to be healthy. As I watched the dog making his rounds in the neighborhood I couldn’t help but wonder if he was being taken care of better than the people in our homeless community. And then I realized what I had just done. Did you realize what I had done? I had just compared the homeless community — people — to the life of a feral dog.
Immediately, I began commiserating to myself about the homeless situation and began waxing on to anybody willing to listen that “somebody” needed to do something about this homeless situation.
Then, because providence seems to have a sense of irony; two days later I got a phone call from a friend of mine. I’ll call this friend Tracy. Tracy called to ask if I could help him haul some lumber up to an empty lot up Kaloko Mauka where he wants to build a shelter for himself. Tracy is homeless. I’ve known Tracy for many years – I knew him before he was homeless. Tracy is a really nice guy. He just has a way of thinking that is different than most people. This thinking — along with a terrible economy — has caused Tracy to be homeless. He does not want to be homeless. Tracy currently lives at the end of a deserted cul-de-sac in Kona. He jokingly calls the street, “the road to nowhere.”
So once again, I realized that the “somebody” that needed to help with the problem, in this case the homeless, was me. It was an inconvenience to help him when he called but I knew I had to help him.
There has been a lot of talk about what the government should be doing to address the problem of homelessness. Although I do believe that the government should be doing more to address the problem, I believe the responsibility for both addressing the problem and solving it rests squarely on the shoulders of the faith community. Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, said that if we believe in concepts such as “with God all things are possible” then we should be able to eradicate poverty housing and homelessness in our community within our lifetimes. But it’s not just the faith community that needs to respond better to this. It is the responsibility of every person that calls our county home – our community – to help our neighbors in need.
The homeless problem is not so monumental that we, the people of Hawaii, cannot solve. We have the resources and the people to solve it. Steve Bader, for instance, who was Gov. Ige’s campaign director, I know for a fact is available. Steve is the former director of East Hawaii Coalition for the Homeless. Pat Hurney, who is currently the executive director for Habitat for Humanity in Kona, used to run the transitional housing program in North Hawaii. The resources are there. By the way, the bungalows for that formerly very successful transitional housing program are currently sitting vacant in a lot out in Puna. This is an islandwide problem — and it can be solved islandwide. I heard a statistic that 25 percent of the homes on the Big Island are vacant. I’m not sure I believe that, however, I do know that there are a lot of vacant homes. Even if the number is just a percentage of that, it is a travesty that people have to sleep in the bushes – like dogs – when there are empty homes to house them in. However, to answer those concerned about NIMBY (not in my back yard) the solution for starters is as simple as somebody providing an empty warehouse and putting some beds in it. This is something government can do if no one else heeds the Samaritan call — the call to love your neighbor as best that you can.
There are people working to address the problem, I have several dear friends who donate their time and energy in feeding and looking after the homeless — but we can solve this.
So in the spirit of realizing that the ones that have to do something is you and I. Rather than ask why not enough is happening, I would like to open up my phone for ideas about what you think you can do and organize a solution. Because each one of us has a responsibility to help our fellow man. I want to thank West Hawaii Today and the Tribune Herald for the excellent articles addressing this problem and helping to create awareness. Thanks to Dr. Clifford Kopp for walking around the island to create awareness. Now let’s fix the problem.
The next day I helped Tracy pick up the old palette wood and donated lumber to build himself a shelter. Evening had fallen by the time we were done unloading the material. So I took Tracy back home: an empty lot at end of a cul-de-sac, the road to nowhere. And as I watched him disappear into the blackness of night I said to myself we have to help these people because if for no other reason — there but for the grace of God go I.
Tony Vidana is the former president Hale Aloha O Hilo Habitat for Humanity, and Habitat for Humanity West Hawaii Faith Committee Acting Chair
My Turn opinions are those of the writer and not of West Hawaii Today