HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii law enforcement agents have cleared dozens of homeless camps in Oahu’s Diamond Head State Monument and issued citations to seven people who refused to leave despite weeks of warnings.
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii law enforcement agents have cleared dozens of homeless camps in Oahu’s Diamond Head State Monument and issued citations to seven people who refused to leave despite weeks of warnings.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources conducted the sweep along the volcanic crater Wednesday. The action came after the residents were notified earlier this month that they would need to vacate the site.
The state has identified at least 40 unlawful camps on Diamond Head.
Scott Morishige, the state’s homeless coordinator, said the occupants included one family with a child but most were single adults or couples.
“This is a population largely living in isolation,” Morishige said. “These areas are very geographically spread out and separated not only by distance, but also by brush and rocky terrain. They wanted to be separate and apart and have a sense of privacy.”
Crews found piles of human feces, buckets filled with urine, trash and debris around the camps, said Dan Dennison, a spokesman for the land department. Private contractor T&M Environmental was brought in to conduct the cleanup and had only been able to clear out three of the encampments by mid-day.
“Diamond Head is Hawaii’s most iconic natural landmark,” Dennison said. “It’s not here for people to live permanently. We don’t want our state parks viewed as a place where people can set up permanent housing.”
Social workers have been reaching out to residents of the camps for six months to connect them with permanent housing options and other services, Morishige said.
KHON-TV reports this is the third cleanup of illegal camps at Diamond Head State Monument. It is unclear how the state plans to go about keeping people from returning to live at the site.
“That’s still under discussion,” Dennison said. “Everyone feels we’ve got to do something so we don’t keep coming back every six months. You almost have to have someone out here monitoring 24 hours a day.”
The seven homeless people who were cited for misdemeanor violations of being in a closed area have been ordered to appear in court and face maximum fines of $1,000.