The homeless have moved into Kailua Beach Park and some Kailua residents say they’re now scared to go the park at night.
It’s a typical Saturday at Kailua Beach Park, with many enjoying the park with family and friends.
But once the sun goes down, some residents say the atmosphere at the park changes.
Kailua resident Heather Pence says her and her husband go to Kailua Beach Park in the early evenings to exercise and took these pictures of what they’ve witnessed.
"People camp overnight there and they leave tarps up and trash and I’ve seen drinking and a lot of illegal activities," Heather said. "I’m just concerned for the safety of the Kailua residents and I have a daughter and I like to go to the beach with my 16 month old daughter and it’s scary I’m afraid."
"It’s scary going to the beach park now and I’m afraid if it goes on too long it will just be a bigger and bigger problem if it’s not addressed," Dan Pence said.
City councilman Ikaika Anderson notified police to check out the park on Saturday.
"They went out after I spoke with them today they have also told me they’ve been out there for at least the past two weeks doing ATV patrols and that they haven’t seen any illegal activities," Anderson said.
Anderson says police need to catch the people in the act of doing something illegally in order to make an arrest.
"It doesn’t seem to us that using beach parks is a good solution to solve the homeless problem and we’re hoping that the new program that the governor has will take people and put them in the shelters," said Kailua Neighborhood Board chair Chuck Prentiss.
The governor’s homeless initiative asks the public to call in when they see someone in need.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
