The Hawai‘i Supreme Court heard oral arguments on December 14 from a Maui County attorney and a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Hawai‘i representing former residents of Pu‘uhonua o Kanahā, a community of people living unhoused in Maui. The residents sued Maui County for violating their right to due process before their private property was seized and destroyed in an encampment sweep in 2021. If successful, the argument advanced by advocates for the unhoused population in Hawai‘i that the County’s actions were unconstitutional could serve to limit future encampment sweeps in Hawai‘i and help ensure a more compassionate response to the housing crisis, providing stability and a sense of dignity for those living unhoused across the state. The catastrophic wildfires in Maui have exacerbated the state’s housing crisis, and advocates, including NLIHC and other national partners, continue to push for a just recovery for all survivors regardless of their housing status.
According to Share Your Mana, an organization that provides direct services and advocacy for houseless individuals in Maui, generations of Native Hawaiians have lived in and around Kanahā Beach Park, returning to the area on weekends to camp and fish. Before colonial contact, a term for “homelessness” did not exist for those living in Hawai‘i. Though they may not have lived inside a mainland-style house, Native Hawaiians were always “home.” “Houseless” or “unhoused” have, therefore, been the predominant terms used throughout Hawai‘i to describe people without acess to permanent physical structure. Due to the legacy of colonization and ongoing discrimination, Native Hawaiians disproportionately experience houselessness compared to non-Native people. As the houseless community around Kanahā Beach Park grew in recent years, Share Your Mana and other agencies began providing essential care items and connections to community supports. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, all public parks were closed, cutting off access to clean water, restrooms, and the shade the park had provided.
Share Your Mana quickly helped the residents organize and form a leadership team. They named themselves Pu`uhonua o Kanahā, meaning “a place of refuge” in the Wailuku Ahupua‘a in the Pū‘ali Komohana Moku district. Throughout the pandemic, the Pu`uhonua o Kanahā community consistently managed around 120 people. A meeting with residents and County officials in March 2020 led to the delivery of several port-o-potties, a handwashing station, a dumpster, and water access from a fire hydrant. But one year later, Maui County removed these supports without warning and conditions within the community began to deteriorate. On September 14, 2021, a Maui police officer delivered a Notice to Vacate letter to residents, indicating a sweep was being planned for the entire community. Share Your Mana collected over 50 signed Contested Case forms from residents opposing the sweep and delivered them to Maui County Corporation Counsel and the Mayor’s office, requesting the sweep be halted until the individual cases could be heard. Unfortunately, the County ignored the Contested Cases and proceeded to sweep the encampment. While the County and agencies were able to house a small percentage of the residents, it continued to destroy over 50 tons of personal property, scattering residents and effectively eliminating the self-organized refuge of Pu‘uhonua o Kanahā.
Following the sweep, the ACLU of Hawai‘i stepped up to represent a group of individuals who had lost all their belongings. The group filed a lawsuit alleging that Maui County and (former) Mayor Mike Victorino violated their constitutional rights by ignoring requests for a contested case hearing before the sweep occurred, which was required under the state’s constitution. Maui County subsequently submitted a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was later denied. On Dec 14, 2023, more than two years after the sweep occurred, the case was heard by the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, and a ruling is expected later this year. Advocates hope the court will uphold rulings from similar cases, such as Garcia vs. City of Los Angeles, which found that a city cannot destroy the publicly stored personal property of unhoused people.
“The prevailing strategy of punishment and finger-pointing is as inhumane as it is ineffective,” says Lisa Seikai Darcy, founder of Share Your Mana. “There is no justification for us to allow our neighbors to struggle and suffer in this manner. It is our responsibility to build bridges with the people being impacted by this crisis; only through relationships and trust can we work in successful partnership with those who need support the most.”
A recording of the oral arguments can be found here. To read updates about ongoing advocacy efforts for Maui’s unhoused residents and the Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruling, please visit shareyourmana.org.