Kahului Breakwater Cleaned Up
Homeless
relocate as bulldozers move in.
J.M.
Buck
After
three years, the burgeoning homeless encampment at Kahului
Harbor Park was finally cleaned up by county officials on
April 10. Prior to the cleanup, heavy rains flooded much
of the tent city, swamping camps set up in derelict vehicles.
 Photo:
Mauka |
Approximately
140 homeless people voluntarily reloced to elsewhere on
the island, clearing the way for bulldozers to clean up
what had become not only an eyesore, but a growing health
threat.
 Photo:
Mauka
|
Mayor
Alan Arakawa finally made the decision to close down the
homeless camp after pressure from Lorrin Pang, Maui Director
of the State Department of Health. Aside from a plethora
of staph infections, murine typhus and hepatitis C were
also threats to public health.Though many of the homeless
to refuge at local shelters, a number of people simply replanted
themselves nearby in an area free of rubbish. Others moved
to beaches elsewhere on the island.
 Photo:
Mauka |
Several
sick stray animals that roamed the homeless camp were taken
in by Maui Humane Society. Sadly, several, like the cat
pictured to the left, had to be euthanized.
The
park is now closed, with boulders blocking the ingress/
egress. The cleanup is expected to continue for approximately
two more weeks.
|
