Helping the homeless in Honolulu
by Ian Brizdle | July 29, 2019
As a longtime resident of urban Honolulu, I feel like I am becoming jaded toward the homeless situation that seems to get worse every year. I know there is no silver bullet to easily solve this complex problem, but instead of feeling negative, what can we do to at least make a small positive impact?
Tough love
I see it every day. Homeless people just sit on the side of King Street and ask people for money, and people stop and give them money or food. Maybe it makes us feel good because we did our good deed for the day. Or maybe we are uncomfortable with conflict, so we feel like giving the person some food or money will resolve the situation.
But the effect is the opposite. By giving the homeless money and food, we are encouraging them to continue to sit there on the side of the street. We need to feel comfortable just saying no, and hopefully this will encourage them to go to shelters for food and services — pairing the meal with social services to help them get off the streets.
The “Peanut Butter Ministry”
The Institute for Human Services (IHS) began in 1978 as a small outreach program on Smith Street. Father Claude DuTeil started up conversations with unsheltered individuals by offering them a peanut butter sandwich and coffee. His goal was to provide support for people needing help through a compassionate and community-based approach.
Today, IHS is a 156-employee nonprofit agency on a mission to create and offer tailored housing solutions for those in crisis, and nurture homeless people toward greater self-direction and responsibility. These are the experts who are fighting the good fight, so how can we support them?
Making a positive impact
Hawaiian Electric Company is one of the many local businesses and faith-based groups that support IHS. For over 20 years, Hawaiian Electric volunteers have given their personal time to help with meal preparation and meal service at IHS’ Women’s and Men’s Shelters. In 2018, 513 Hawaiian Electric employees and ohana volunteered 1,078.5 hours of service at IHS.
I just recently volunteered at a dinner service shift at the Sumner Shelter in Iwilei because I wanted to learn firsthand what IHS is all about. We (myself along with two other Hawaiian Electric Company volunteers) went down there after our regular work hours and assisted the IHS staff in cleaning up the kitchen area. We then set up an assembly line and plated around 250 hot meals consisting of beef stew with broccoli and corn, rice, macaroni salad, dessert and an orange slice. Our hungry customers were all sorts of people, and many voiced their thanks for providing their dinner.
I was able to see firsthand the empathy from the IHS crew and their dedication to treating each person individually and with compassion. This brief experience served to help me see the homeless more as individual human beings and less like an ever-increasing horde invading our city. The IHS crew’s empathy and compassion are contagious.
If you really want to help make a difference with the homeless situation, please support this awesome local organization. You can learn more about volunteering or making donations on their website, www.ihshawaii.org.
Ian Brizdle is an online communications analyst for Hawaiian Electric Company.
