The city cleared out a homeless camp in Haleiwa on Monday, a move they say will only force them to another area where they’ll likely be more visible.
"So this is where our kitchen was and we would have one person that basically cooked for everybody and made sure that we all ate this is all family here," said Sheryl Bieler, one of the homeless living in the area.
Sheryl Bieler shows the area she and dozens of other homeless have lived in for several months. The city gave them notice that the place had to be cleared out Tuesday morning.
"We’re all being kicked out of here with no place to go. We were told to come here by the police, the police told us to come here and now we’re being told that we have to leave. Every place that we go they tell us we have to leave," she says.
City workers and volunteers, accompanied by Honolulu police, took apart what was left behind. It’s an area across from Haleiwa Beach Park, hidden behind the bushes. Those who were kicked out wonder why they’re being forced out when they’ve essentially stayed out of the way.
"We’ve been tucked away back here for a while, why are you just gonna take us out of the bushes and put us on the streets where we’re more visible?" said another person being kicked out of the area.
The city says it received numerous complaints about the homeless, and wanted to get rid of the debris that has accumulated in this area. A spokesman says notices were given out so it should come as no surprise.
"They were well aware of this, we worked with the Homeless Coalition and we’ve been noticing them for the past month so they were well aware of what they were doing and they realize that they have to move," said city spokesman Miles Hazama.
Hazama says the service providers have also visited the families living here, to offer them choices on where they can move.
"They were down here three times last week, on our notice we had a bunch of service providers listed for them so many of them did contact them and they said it was good information for them to have," he says.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
