Pubdate: Fri, 18 May 2007 Source: Hawaii Tribune Herald (Hilo, HI) Copyright: 2007 Hawaii Tribune Herald Contact: http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/185 Author: Mark Kiyuna FIRST, HELP THE HOMELESS To Councilman Dominic Yagong, regarding the survey about the 735 acres of county property in Paauilo: You totally neglected the homeless. This group of people has no advocate. Veterans make up large proportion of the homeless. These people were trained to hate, kill and destroy the enemy. Then they come home and are expected to become civilized. In Vietnam, 58,000 GIs died and thousands of veterans committed suicide. Now many are made homeless. They could not make the adjustment to civilian life. Violence and domestic abuse cause a lot of homelessness. Drugs are another destroyer of families. The federal policy of drug possession and lose your house is a big contributor of homelessness. What is your plan for the homeless problem? Here is a golden opportunity to turn Paauilo into a model for the nation. Use the ahupua'a system where the homeless build their own roads and houses and pay for it themselves. Plus you need to charge them $100 per month for each adult for a lease rent. A hundred adults would give you $10,000 per year, and this is without the county paying for any of the expenses. Right now homelessness is a big problem. But a homeless community in Paauilo can become a great asset. The state's remedy for druggies is to lock them up and deprive them of life. The best remedy is work. Let them live in tents -- that's how they live on the beach. They must build their own houses and roads. On county land, county laws and standards must apply. Human beings are the most intelligent creatures God created in this whole universe. Their ability to earn money, build their own houses and roads cannot be denied. Look what they have done on the beaches. This is a better plan than you have. MARK KIYUNA Hilo - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath