Some people had been living in the Ukumehame homeless encampment for years when county officials removed roughly a dozen from the grassy area just off Honoapi‘ilani Highway during a sweep in August, according to Native Hawaiian housing advocate Mōʻī Kawaʻakoa.
“A lot of them didn’t know where to even begin. They were confused, overwhelmed,” said Kawaʻakoa, who was there to provide assistance to those who were being displaced. “Over 25 years, you accumulate things — you have animals, you have plants, you have this and you have that.”
The Ukumehame enforcement action was among the most recent homeless encampment sweeps by local and state authorities on Maui, including one on Amala Place near Kanahā Beach Park in July and another near Kahului Harbor last year. The people displaced by these sweeps could soon have stronger protections under a measure the Maui County Council is weighing, bucking a nationwide trend toward more conservative policies to crack down on homeless encampments.
As the state and Honolulu also shift toward stronger methods to remove homeless people from the streets, council member Gabe Johnson of Lana‘i is championing legislation to mandate a softer touch…