Following the recent homeless encampment sweep at Hale Hālāwai, the ACLU of Hawaiʻi issued a letter to the County demanding it stop all sweeps until it can provide sufficient shelter.
Referencing the county’s May 24 raid of the Kona encampment, the letter states, “… the Hale Hālāwai Sweep is just the first in a series of enforcement actions that the County intends to execute against houseless people within the County, including an upcoming sweep planned for June 7, 2023 near the Kona Community Aquatic Center and other locations across Hawaiʻi Island.”
The letter continued, “The County is engaging in these sweeps despite knowing full well that Hawaiʻi County does not have sufficient available shelter space to house the people who have been impacted by these sweeps.”
In the letter, ACLU of Hawai’i Legal Director Wookie Kim cited the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case Martin v. Boise, which ruled that such law enforcement actions are unconstitutional when the county cannot provide adequate shelters.
The letter continued, “The County must stop the Planned Sweeps unless and until the County either stands up emergency shelter spaces that can adequately house Hawaiʻi County’s houseless community, or designates a safe space where houseless community members can exist without being subject—every single day and every single second—to County enforcement actions.”
According to Community Alliance Partners, the coalition of Hawai’i Island homeless service providers, as of Friday, June 2 all emergency shelter beds on the island were full.
Paul Normann, Executive Director of Neighborhood Place of Puna and co-chair of Community Alliance Partners explained why service providers have continuously asked the county to refrain from conducting sweeps. “When County Leadership orders police to conduct a sweep, they exacerbate the homeless crisis by making it harder for service providers to contact and help people. Beyond that, these sweeps waste taxpayer dollars by pushing people around without providing housing or shelter.”
Carrie Ho’opi’i, Hope Services’ Outreach Team Leader, said her team has been trying to track down people they’d been working with at Hale Halawai. “People are afraid to engage. It’s hard to trust anyone on the outside when you are afraid that officers will wake you up at 4:00am and force you out into the night.”
The ACLU requested a response from the county and stated that they are open to discussing alternatives.
Photo credit: Community Alliance Partners