Some things in life simply go unappreciated such as as a best friend to whisper secrets to everyday or the accommodation of a roof over your head In America, there are 610,042 people that can’t afford that luxury, they must occupy a park bench to use as a bed and a tattered newspaper as a blanket. In Hawaii, there are 4,700 homeless people and it has been a rising epidemic for many years and although many actions have been implemented in hopes of improving homelessness, none have proven significant enough to dramatically fix a difficult situation. Hawaii is already a very populated, there is approximately 1.404 million people, and the numbers aren’t getting any fewer and homelessness contributes to the problem of overpopulation. Homelessness is mainly cause by substance abuse and mental illness. Over ⅔ of Hawaii’s homeless population is because of substance abuse (it is easy to get drugs and alcohol in Hawaii) and mental illness. Even further, Hawaii’s veterans homeless population is one of the worst in the nation. Sadly, the main concern (of officials) is not to find homeless homes, it is to get them off the streets and out of the view of tourist. Due to the high cost of living and Hawaii’s nice weather, homelessness has increased greatly in Hawaii contributing to the problem of overpopulation.
Mainland officials are giving homeless people in their states one way tickets to Hawaii because of the more comfortable lifestyle that Hawaii can offer (doesn’t get too cold). All over the country, mainland states have been sending their homeless population to Hawaii in order to receive government benefits. However that only over crowds Hawaii even further decreasing it’s beauty and the state attraction sites for visitors. Some states that have participated in this unlawful practice are California, Michigan, and New York. A few years ago Detroit was buying plane tickets for homeless people in the motor city - and sending them here to Honolulu. Great, their idea was, "At least they will be warm, in paradise, and we will get rid of them!" Since then, Duke Aiona preached during his campaign that he has already sent warnings to the other 49 states warning. However, many states ignore his warning and send them anyway. As a result, all the homeless being sent to Hawaii have been collected and are being sent back to their home states. Civil beat states that using this method with decrease the homeless population in Hawaii by 17,000 people in the upcoming years. New York first implemented this method by sending 550 of it’s homeless back to their homes such as Orlando, Paris, and San Juan. In conclusion, homeless people have been sent back and forth between stated but a large percentage of them tend to be anchored in Hawaii, increasing the population and causing more problems for the tropical islands.
High cost of living has made minimum wage workers unable to pay the exorbitant costs of renting or buying a home/apartment. The cost of living in Hawaii is 74.6% higher than national average. Due to this discouraging truth, the 325,000 employees that get paid $7.25 an hour (minimum wage) can not keep up with the rent, food, clothing, and necessity expenses. The end result, many families and individual end up on the street which means the houses they were evicted from goes back on sale and targets buyers that can afford the homes. Who are they? Wealthy owners on the mainland. Every year, about 55,145 outsiders move to Hawaii which increases the overall population by 14,184 people every year (due to some people that leave Hawaii yearly as well). Not only do mainlanders come in and buy the houses, but the prices continue to go up since many people are willing to pay almost anything to live here. Therefore, homelessness has surged by 32% in the past years congesting streets and demoralizing tourists from returning to Hawaii which will only hurt the economy even more. All in all, homeless in Hawaii is only getting worse due to the high cost of living in Hawaii because of the mainlanders enthusiasm to live here.
Many people the visit for things such as surfing competitions decide to stay in Hawaii because of the enjoyable weather and aloha spirit. Devin Goodwin, once an Alaskan resident used the last of his money and caught a plane straight Waikiki and has been living on the streets for five months (selling marijuana or begging for money). Goodwin came by chance, however many others that travel to Hawaii for what is planned as a visit choose to stay because the weather is nice and free access to beautiful beaches. Many homeless people don’t plan to abandon their life on the street because they want to fight against the officials who try and force them off the streets and hinder them from their rights. They also don’t trust moving in shelters because many of them have pets that shelters don’t allow and many of them retain bed bugs. Another homeless decided to stay after he enjoyed Hawaii’s welcoming spirit and weather during a winter visit to compete in a surfing competition. He doesn’t plan to give up his place on the streets either because he wants to oppose the officials who steal his property ( police take it away belongings and put it in storage and they have to pay to get it back). In conclusion much of the homeless population has arisen from outsiders who choose to stay in Hawaii after a visit, but can’t afford a place to live.
In Hawaii the amount of people is astounding. However, the amount of homeless roaming the streets and wreaking havoc on the city may be an even more devastating fact about the beautiful island of Hawaii. Every place no matter how gorgeous will carry it’s flaws, however Hawaii’s seem to be continuing to grow and grow and many officials are only putting a band aid on the problem rather than sitting down and trying to fix the problem. Therefore, due to the high cost of living and Hawaii’s nice weather, homelessness has increased greatly in Hawaii contributing to the problem of overpopulation. Although we have done an excellent job of covering the problem up (because tourists keep coming) we need to think of a permanent solution that will get families, veterans, and ill people off the streets. Homeless is a solvable issue that many officials should press to resolve so there will never be a homeless occupied park bench again.
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