PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Tell Honolulu City Council: Stop Criminalizing the Homeless!
  1. Signatures
    162 out of 200
    Petitioning
    1. Honolulu City Councilmember (+ 1 other)
      Petitioning
      close
      • Honolulu City Councilmember (Charles K. Djou)
      • Councilmember Djou's Chief of Staff (Dylan Nonaka)
  2. Created By
    Shannon Moriarty
    Boston, MA
About this Petition Petition Letter

Honolulu holds the #8 spot the list of Top 10 Meanest Cities towards the homeless. But it seems this dubious honor has gone unnoticed by city counselors. Yesterday, a bill was introduced that would prevent the homeless from sitting or lying down on Oahu sidewalks. Take action today to tell the city leadership that criminalizing is cruel, unproductive, and inhumane.

The legislation yesterday was introduced by Councilman Charles K. Djou. The American Civil Liberties Union calls the bill an infringement of constitutional rights. The bill states: "No person shall sleep, sit or lie on a public sidewalk, or on a blanket, chair, stool or any other object placed on a public sidewalk."

Honolulu City Councilors seem to believe that keeping homeless individuals out of sight is the best anecdote for promoting tourism, a key industry in the state. Unfortunately, this priority has resulted in short-sighted laws and ordinances that make life for Honolulu's homeless extremely difficult, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless' 2009 report, Homes Not Handcuffs.

Since 2006, the City has slowly been removing benches from parks. Thousands of dollars have been spent retrofitting bus stops to discourage sleeping, removing benches and installing concrete stools. In addition to banning camping in several coastal parks, the city council also passed a broad camping ban that makes it easier to remove homeless campers from public parks.

It's time to tell Honolulu leaders: Stop using short-sighted tactics to hide the homeless and get serious about implementing productive, long-term solutions.

Send an email asking City Councilman Charles Djou to withdraw his cruel bill and get serious about helping people without a home. Tell him to consider strategies that have been more effective in humanely helping those without a home in other communities, such as a Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness for Honolulu.

 

Recent Signatures

Councilmember: Stop criminalizing the homeless!

Dear Councilmember Djou:

I am writing to urge you to withdraw the bill you introduced on February 15th that would prevent people from sitting or lying down on Oahu's streets. This measure is cruel, short-sighted, and only adds to the criminalization of the homeless in your community.

As you are likely aware, Honolulu has already ranks #8 on the National Coalition for the Homeless' list of the 10 Meanest Cities towards the homeless. Individuals and communities across the country have recognized that is is wrong and counter-productive to criminalize individuals without a home simply because they cannot afford a place to sleep at night.

I urge you to use your leadership position to initiate more productive strategies for helping the homeless, such as spearheading a Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Honolulu. Surely, you understand the need for long-range thinking rather than cruel tactics that do little to solve the larger issue at hand.

If you believe that being homeless is crime enough already, I urge you to withdraw your bill and engage in productive discourse about definitively ending homelessness in Honolulu.

[Your name]

Press Inquiries