Homeless detention plan is perfectly legal
So, earlier this year, the Tribune Herald printed my letter to the editor called an “Answer for the downtown homeless.”
The answer is called the Homeless Intervention Detention Program.
Eventually, since there is no other course of action, the homeless population will commit enough misdemeanors that they will be sent to jail.
The National Institute of Mental Health (2020) determined that one-third of all male inmates and two-thirds of all female inmates are severely mentally ill. So, if the homeless are statistically predisposed to incarceration, an intervention detention program might just make a both economic and social sense.
I will disclose that I’ve been a member of the ACLU for over the past 30 years, but I consider them to be counterproductive by placing rights over results.
One of my best friends is an attorney graduated from a prestigious law school. The Homeless Intervention Detention Program is absolutely legal. It’s covered specifically under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, and if that isn’t enough, you can check a ruling that a local school board can make 40 hours of community service mandatory for graduation, and even that is not illegal (Immediato vs. Rye Neck School District).
The biggest problem is public health. The homeless are disease vectors. Sorry if that is difficult to accept, but it is true. It is also an effective strategy. It is a way to frame the problem which will allow programs like this to succeed.
Little villages of tiny homes don’t work because you can’t find anyone to manage them. This is because mental health issues between the clients (in very close quarters) turn the entire village into a zoo.
If you haven’t noticed, the first wave of tiny homes on Hawaii Island were immediately distributed to government agencies rather than reestablished. It’s not even clear if a full-time (24-hour) police officer would solve that problem. We can do much better.
So, I got a lot of pushback with a thousand reasons why nothing can be done. That included several self-righteous editorials, one of which attacked me personally. I can accept that. We can do much better.
That friend of mine, who is an attorney, said just take a look at the 13th Amendment. Everything in Homeless Intervention Detention Program can be done. By law.
I make no apologies for requiring the homeless for at least for 90 days to have personal hygiene, a clean place to sleep, nutritious food, mental health counseling, medication and a chance to return to their families.
Maybe that 90-day intervention can change their lives, or send them on a path where social services can accomplish good things. Repeat if necessary.
The boot camp center could be the “safe space” proposed by our governor.
The public health and safety of all our families justifies a compassionate course of action. We can do much better.
So, take a look, and read the letter twice. And then consider what you can do in your current position to make a Hawaii Island a better place — for both the homeless and your family.
Michael Mamczarz
Kurtistown
PTA open house was a ‘great event’
Mahalo to the men and women of the U.S. military who hosted the public for the Pohakuloa Training Area open house (on April 25).
Their professionalism and knowledge of their specific areas of expertise was outstanding. They were respectful in every way and welcomed our questions and conversation.
Great event!
Elizabeth O’Keefe
Hilo