Join ACLU Hawai`i for a presentation on the Decriminalizing Houselessnesss in Hawai`i Report -  Monday, November 29th at 6pm

Hawai`i ranks 2nd in rates of houselessness in the United States, with Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders composing the largest group of unhoused residents. Rather than addressing the root causes of this racialized crisis and ensuring all residents have access to life-saving housing and services, public officials have passed laws making houselessness a crime and enforcing them through inhumane “sweeps'' that punish, displace, cite and jail community members for being unhoused. 

 Anti-houselessness laws do nothing to stem the flow of entry into houselessness, and their enforcement by local police departments is costly, harmful, and counterproductive. Meanwhile, there is an acute shortage of permanent housing support—the top basic need required to end houselessness. 

Our research reveals an entire legal infrastructure in Hawai`i that makes meeting basic survival needs illegal in public spaces. It acknowledges the root causes of homelessness and offers concrete steps to address houselessness, mental health crises, police violence, and to increase safety and healing for uhoused communities and all residents in Hawai`i. For more information about ACLU Hawai`i, visit www.acluhi.org 

Speakers

Asha DuMonthier (she/her) is the author of the Decriminalizing Houselessness in Hawaiʻi Report. She holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California at Berkeley and has a background in community and labor organizing.

Lindsay Pacheco (she/her) is a co-founder and leader of Ka Poʻe O Kakaʻako (KPOK), a group of houseless people who organized in Kakaʻako Gateway Park, in 2019. After many years on the street, Lindsay got housed in May 2020, re-enrolled herself in college, and is now pursuing a degree in Social Work, while continuing to conduct outreach and advocacy for those who remain still houseless.

Wookie Kim (he/him) is the Legal Director at ACLU of Hawaiʻi, where he works to defend people's civil rights and civil liberties through litigation, lobbying, public education, and other forms of advocacy. Among the issues Wookie works on are the criminalization of poverty, bail reform, reproductive freedom, gender equity, and freedom of expression.

Shayna Lonoaea-Alexander (she/they) is a hapa queer community organizer working as a consultant mobilizing for criminal legal policy change through legislative advocacy and political education. 

ACCESS

This virtual event will include live closed-captioning and ASL interpretation.

REPORT

We encourage everyone to review the report prior to attending the webinar. Read the Decriminalizing Houselessness in Hawaiʻi Report here.