BROTHER BRAD Kossman – Houseless, Advocate, Solutions

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Jason with Brother BRAD KOSSMAN, 30+ year Mauian who has given selflessly and assisted homeless and distressed people here on Maui since 1985.  Brad has worked on Maui with great social leaders in our community, from churches and homeless outreach to Keep America Beautiful and ‘Ol Maui High …  listen in

Summary & Transcript

[00:00 → 02:27]
Introduction and Background of Brad Kossman
Jason Schwartz hosts a show on KAKU 88.5 FM and welcomes guest Brad Kossman, known locally as Brother Brad. Brad has been a long-term resident of Maui, arriving initially in 1980 and returning in 1985 as a missionary. His early work included starting a Christian halfway house called Harbor Lights, focused on helping prisoners from correctional centers reintegrate. Despite being asked to leave Harbor Lights after five years due to resistance against having a mission there, Brad’s dedication to assisting vulnerable populations on Maui was established.

• [02:27 → 06:34]
  Brad’s Mission and Independent Work
• Brad is self-funded and independent of agencies, contrasting with many organizations that often run out of resources or have restrictive rules.
• He highlights the bureaucratic limitations of agencies offering benefits but often having no availability or charging high fees for substandard living conditions.
• Brad’s mission has always been to help those who “fall through the safety nets” of government, churches, and social organizations, especially those struggling with addiction or other barriers to accessing help.
• He recounts leasing an industrial lot next to the Salvation Army where he housed up to 27 people, including families, on a very limited budget (~$1,000/month). This was a temporary emergency housing solution characterized by basic living conditions and essential facilities like portable toilets.
• Brad emphasizes that his efforts were genuine and community-focused, providing a stabilization zone for people needing a safe place to spend the night.
• [06:34 → 11:50]
  Challenges and Community Dynamics
• Brad states that running any kind of homeless shelter requires keeping neighbors satisfied to avoid backlash. Thus, strict rules were in place—no drugs or disruptive behavior allowed on-site.
• He also details the tension with nearby Salvation Army staff due to some residents salvaging items from dumpsters, highlighting community resistance.
• The concept of NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) is cited as a significant barrier to establishing emergency or transitional housing in residential neighborhoods. Industrial areas were more feasible but limited.
• Brad advocates for “kibbutz boxes”—small, pallet-based housing units inspired by early Israeli kibbutz housing—as a functional, affordable, and temporary housing solution, which could serve as a stepping stone for people regaining stability.
• He stresses the importance of allowing individuals to sleep safely even if long-term solutions are not immediately available, noting the societal need to regroup and help those off the official rolls of assistance.
• [11:50 → 19:58]
  Impact of Housing Market and Airbnb on Homelessness
• Brad critiques the local housing market, emphasizing how Airbnb and illegal rentalshave driven up prices, making it nearly impossible for low-income residents or workers to afford housing.
• He points out the disconnect between local government actions and the reality faced by homeless and working poor residents.
• Brad urges community members to vote and participate politically to influence policy changes, highlighting upcoming measures to increase fines for illegal short-term rentals.
• He acknowledges the difficulty of balancing tourism-driven economic interests with affordable housing needs.
• [19:58 → 28:39]
  Housing Solutions and Political Engagement
• Brad recalls conversations with the mayor, including proposals to use vacant buildings (such as a building near St. Theresa’s feeding program) for emergency housing.
• He describes the epidemic of homelessness in areas like Kihei, with people displaced but simply moving elsewhere rather than disappearing.
• Brad advocates for centralized, temporary, and emergency housing programs away from tourist areas to reduce public exposure and provide better services.
• He stresses the need for accessible facilities for hygiene and laundry, which are critical for people’s dignity and ability to seek employment or rehabilitation.
• [28:39 → 37:12]
  Complexities of Homelessness and Addiction
• Brad discusses the difficulties in serving people with addiction or mental health issues, noting that many shelters have restrictions (e.g., sobriety requirements) that exclude some of the most vulnerable.
• He mentions the lack of mental health services and the challenges faced by people addicted to drugs like crystal meth (“ice”).
• Brad shares stories of individuals such as “Mr. Bag Man,” a homeless person who scavenges for cigarettes and has been on the streets for years, illustrating the human face of homelessness.
• The problem of theft among homeless populations is cited as a reason why people are highly protective of their few possessions.
• He emphasizes that many homeless people are veterans or otherwise deserving of support but remain underserved.
• [37:12 → 44:42]
  Social and Systemic Issues
• Brad critiques societal attitudes that marginalize homeless people and the tendency to simply medicate mental health problems rather than addressing root causes.
• He describes the “revolving door” phenomenon where people cycle in and out of shelters or programs without sustainable progress.
• Brad points to systemic failures such as inadequate utilization of existing facilities and resources (e.g., rusting properties, underused shelters).
• He raises concerns about the growing population of homeless people coming from outside the island, brought by affordable flights and the local climate, including people from mainland states and other countries.
• Brad notes the invisibility of many homeless people living in the bush areas, which keeps official statistics artificially low.
• [44:42 → 52:40]
  Community Values and Leadership Challenges
• Brad recounts his collaboration with Clarence Kamae, a former harbor master turned advocate, emphasizing the need for fellowship, compassion, and unselfish social service.
• He laments the lack of political leadership declaring homelessness an emergency and taking bold action, calling current efforts “moving deck chairs on the Titanic.”
• Brad stresses the importance of truth, awareness, and community involvement to break illusions and denial about homelessness and poverty.
• He notes the emotional and physical toll of working closely with people struggling with addiction and mental health issues.
• [52:40 → 53:47]
  Closing Remarks and Call to Action
• Brad urges anyone with property or space that could help house homeless individuals to come forward and assist, stressing that his shelters operated quietly and respectfully with neighbors.
• The show concludes with gratitude to Brad for his decades of service and a reminder that solutions require community-wide effort and leadership.

1. 1. 1. Key Themes and Insights

Topic	Key Points
Brad’s Mission	Self-funded, independent, serving those who fall through government and church safety nets.
Emergency Housing	Temporary solutions (e.g., leased industrial lot, kibbutz boxes) provide crucial stabilization.
Challenges	NIMBY, lack of mental health/addiction services, neighborhood resistance, theft among homeless.
Housing Market Impact	Airbnb and illegal rentals raise costs, displace locals, exacerbate homelessness.
Mental Health & Addiction	Inadequate services; shelters often exclude those with active addiction; cycle of revolving door.
Political Engagement	Need for policy change, emergency declarations, enforcement against illegal rentals.
Community Values	Compassion, fellowship, unselfish service essential for sustainable solutions.
External Factors	Influx of homeless individuals from mainland and other places impacting local resources.
Call to Action	Property owners urged to help; voting and community involvement critical for change.

Summary of Quantitative Data

Data Point	Value / Description
Number of people housed on lot	Up to 27 individuals including families
Monthly cost for leased lot	Approximately $1,000
Years Brad has served Maui homeless	Over 30 years
Increase in housing value example	Condo bought for $95,000 now worth $400,000+
Proposed fine increase for illegal rentals	From $1,000 to $25,000

Important Definitions

Term	Definition
NIMBY	“Not In My Backyard” – resistance from residents against local developments, especially shelters.
Kibbutz Boxes	Small, pallet-based temporary housing units inspired by early Israeli kibbutz communal housing.
Revolving Door	Cycle where homeless individuals repeatedly enter and leave shelters or programs without progress.

Key Quotes

• “We need to reach all the people that fall through all the safety nets of the government, churches, and organizations.” – Brad Kossman
• “You can’t disciple somebody one day a week. You have to take them in and find them a job and a place to live.” – Brad Kossman
• “It’s like moving deck chairs on the Titanic.” – Brad Kossman on local government’s handling of homelessness.
• “If there’s anyone that has a building, piece of property, or house that thinks their neighborhood could stand an influx of people, have them call you.” – Brad Kossman’s call to action.

1. 1. 1. Conclusion

Brother Brad Kossman is a deeply committed, self-funded advocate for Maui’s homeless and marginalized populations. His decades of experience reveal systemic failures in government, social services, and community attitudes. Brad’s practical, compassionate approach—ranging from emergency housing on industrial lots to innovative pallet homes—provides a blueprint for temporary stabilization while longer-term solutions are debated. The interview highlights critical barriers such as the impact of the housing crisis, addiction, mental health, and political inertia. Brad urges community involvement, political engagement, and resource sharing to address the homelessness crisis as an emergency, emphasizing the moral imperative of fellowship and service in restoring dignity to those most in need.

Transcript

00:00

found funding for kak u 88.5 FM [Music] hey it looks like the sound is not working on the little dongle otherwise you wouldn’t be honest you’d sing it in don’t dunk dunk dunk dunk I don’t know why we don’t have sound gentlemen but we’ll try it again there it is that’s not welcome to the neutral zone my name is Jason Schwartz I’m your host and I’m here with a special guest Brad cosmic brother Brad how are you this morning Aloha I’m glad to be here okay back a

00:52

little bit okay now talk to me a little eyes that I can get your level for some reason when we hit the button it didn’t work so you’ll tell me why but that’s Tony Tony is not only the host of the local show well you see that’s the power of local talk radio and what that means is we need an auxiliary so that when you’re not on the air you can test things and know you got them right gotcha especially when you’re a blind man like me mm-hmm well welcome to our show Brad brother Brad you have

01:43

been here on Maui a long time and the way I think of you as whenever I saw someone indeed in Kihei hmm they talked about you and they talked about you in a good way because you’re not really a you’re not working for any agency right no I’m all self-funded you’re so funded and you’ve been helping people in all kinds of ways for God 25 years it’s been 30 something I like to explain to everybody who I am I came over here in 1980 I came here in 1985 as a missionary to DARS tight schools was only there a

02:27

short time in Metin clarence kamae and clarence kamae and I started a Christian halfway house at Harbor lights until they found out we were taking prisoners from old Triple C and M Triple C into Harbor lights I was there for five years and then they finally asked me to leave because they didn’t want a mission at Harbor lights this is one eighty five eighty five to ninety okay and what you do after that I’m gonna I wait yeah I went back to the mainland and helped a guy with a all-black all crack housing

03:02

project that was in the middle of st. Louis okay and I helped him there and then I went to Florida and I met a brother Eastham he hi he housed 345 guys a night and I saw a man that brought sent out 12 trucks like the Salvation Army and he brought in a million dollars a month well again I am stopping you for only one reason first of all you have a lot to say you can see brother Brad has been helping people a long time and he is starting to share some of his history first of all thank you for your service you know

03:40

independent of any agencies what I am normally hear from agencies is I’m sorry we have benefits but we don’t have any left sorry we’re out no we don’t have anymore Oh what we have is we’ll charge you this much money someone’s paying a huge amount to supplement that will give you in many cases questionable living places under these rules and and some people can deal with all those things and some can’t and those that can’t that can’t live in a box that can’t live with

04:18

being restricted in certain ways and some of the to have found brother Brad so you’ve been working with people when you talk about you just already jumped into Clarence come on by the way his door Tasha kama is running for council now in Kahului no matter where you are in Maui County if you like Tasha commie you can vote for her and if you like alan arakawa oh he’s our mayor he’s running for council yet again you know I like his opinion but I don’t know particularly why he feels a need do you Brad you’ve

04:52

been speaking to him for years well I used to call in every Thursday morning and try to be the first caller and there was all kinds of issues that that we discussed and I’d have to go back and review all of them but one of the mandates of my 501 3 C when I first got it was that I was looking to reach all the people that fell through all the safety nets of the government the churches and the organizations that said that they were there to help people because sometimes all they had somebody had to do was consume some marijuana and

05:25

they couldn’t receive any services at all so I hate my my 501 3 said I was trying to reach the people that fell through the safety net and that’s why I’ve been I’ve been it was swamped with people that have nowhere to go because they’re addicted to something no and you say swamped with people maybe I’m talking out of school but you’re not well-funded you’re not like those illionaire in fact you’re on the other end of the spectrum you’ve been doing it on a wing and a prayer I remember I

05:56

don’t remember the number if I’m wrong you’ll tell me 25 people 27 27 people that you helped get off the street this is cause it’s an emergency you know I mean our mayor has never said you know this is a problem that the that we need to consider this emergency and do things that are an emergency might happen here that you did it how much did you spend I wish I was housing 27 people including two families and a bunch of other homeless people on $1,000 a month how big a space would you say it was it

06:34

was a lot that I was leasing industrial right next to the Salvation Army I see and obviously it’s not there now so this wasn’t a long-term solution I’m sure that 20 was a 27 at one time at one time and how are they pretty together you had rules and regulations you said my biggest problem was keeping the johnny-on-the-spot empty that’s a joke but it 27 people is a lot of people to have on one lot right next to the Salvation Army so obviously you know the facility the sewage facilities and all

07:08

that this was a temporary thing and all kinds of things for more permanent could happen but I think that on temporary you were able to do things because of your ingenuity and also because you’re Ghent in my experience you’re genuine helping you’ve been doing that all these years that we did with Clarence and well from Clarence it went with janda botanic community work and I live lady I lived out in the cane field out there and helped a lot of people and then I went to old Maui high and I was the caretaker

07:41

there for years and in all of those facilities anyone that really needed a night to spend somewhere or a stabilization zone I tried to provide it even though I wasn’t nothing but the caretaker and you had people I’m sure around that had all kinds of extracurricular activities but on site I imagined there was no drugs and no you couldn’t you couldn’t take the chance because PR is everything about running any kind of a homeless you must make all your neighbors totally happy or you

08:14

won’t be there very well you work with when I say work with other people the other things that happens in these people’s lives is they were going to the services that we all pay for that we all you know a lot of people say well just set them to social services there’s that’s going to be the answer that there are no places to live reasonably we’ll listen to a smart minute here and you’ll see the price deliver is not you could be working one and two full-time jobs that have no place to

08:44

live and have the family you have a lot of fat you had families there too didn’t you we had for a couple that had two children that were she was a schoolteacher I had another one that had been the director of the sub are one of the managers of a Salvation next door I had his four kids there so it it became a community in that these people had nowhere else to go and as long as I kept my landlord happy with the money and keeping the place particulate I was okay also these are all I’m gonna guess you

09:21

didn’t really have meetings and you weren’t there to help them find sobriety and you weren’t there to to guide their lives everyone else was picking people apart in those ways and these agencies because to be involved with some of these services there were requirements so you had people that were pretty responsible to what was going on for the most part you had to because the spaces were so valuable that if someone wasn’t doing anything to prove themselves you had to move them on because you needed

09:51

the space what is sure a valuable service you think that could be done now well that’s one of the things I when I called into the mayor I used to talk to him about a half of Kihei is it wouldn’t it be better to find some vacant lot where they’re already at and clean it up and get them all off the beachfront where all of our tours come and just put up a johnny-on-the-spot like I had and it brought a temporary power instead of give them someplace to wash their clothes and we may actually help them

10:19

out of the rut and I imagine many of them men and women both are capable of some kind of work trade anything like that well you have to utilize that there are manpower because you just can’t have them all sitting around so you know they have to get up and either go look for a job or if they’re going to stay around there you have to utilize there’s other agencies coordinating with you or this is just yourself picked up pieces now the Salvation Army really didn’t like it me next door

10:51

because some of the people at night would sneak and jump over into the dumpster and salvage stuff out of the dumpster that they could really use and Salvation Army didn’t want that so I wasn’t they weren’t happy with me because it was 27 people right next door yeah sure but you didn’t have again that’s why I’m talking temporary we there’s something called NIMBY which is so famous not in my backyard it almost doesn’t matter what the subject thank God it was an industrial area people

11:18

don’t want it here don’t want it here you can’t solve that problem that’s too close to our development so I’m not talking per minute I’m talking about emergency that’s why I’m bringing it up in that way I can recognize that in time tiny houses different solutions of using things like right behind you I see they look like little models it looks like small pallets you’ve been able to do things and create what seems like there was to be waste wood and turn them into

11:50

functional solutions well because of my roots I call them kibbutz boxes because if you see in Israel when they first came back they gave him a kibbutz box and it wasn’t much bigger than a two-story extra-wide johnny-on-the-spot and they lived and then and they were lined up like they were beehives so I have taken pallets which are usually sent back to the mainland and with eight of them I can make some place for someone to live safely quietly and out of the range you would say sleep I mean I reason I’m bringing up sleep rather

12:24

than live is I I think that I would like to think that the model that is said it’s a very functional the short term could mean a year two years three years even but a very functional living environment well someone is regrouping I think our society needs to regroup a little on helping each other I mean what you do is something that a lot of there are a lot of places and people that could do things and would keep the density down keep we’ll just keep him on it up by everyone that has excess working toward

13:03

helping we I want to say repopulate our society with people that were suddenly not in the count you’re on unemployment too long you’re off the count you’ve been in the system too long but you can’t do the rules are on the street well now your we’re not counting you well we have full employment wait a minute before four and a half percent they consider full employment we’re at four percent so they figure that’s all great what are you gonna do with all people that aren’t trained or young

13:32

people that aren’t trained well how do you work toward building it all up so I’m hoping that it’s temporary and that’s the reason I’m saying it that way but you’re right people can live and have a home in a box in a box for the kids we call them cabooses and if you put them on wheels you could create a wagon train God knows we’re all around this country there are different laws about tiny houses and what can be in density and rules and areas that’s why and that’s what the there’s too many

14:08

regulations a toll maui high i wanted to open that up and it had to have proper sewer proper water proper electric proper everything these people were living in the in the bush they didn’t care about proper anything they just needed a safe place to store their stuff shower and do their laundry i hope that the people that are listening have the power or will take the power to help make solutions here I mean I wonder these are not things that are and in their miracles because someone doing it like you did it you’re right you call

14:44

it a johnny-on-the-spot you know a portable bathroom kind of thing that’s cleaned regularly a lot of people could do this there are many ways to not only take people off the street but give them a way of feeling like someone else cares and also gives the programs that exist room to be helpful to people it’s difficult to have someone learn or to have a job trade when they have nowhere to live and nowhere to wash and nowhere to shower and you know see that was what was one of the early things I learned

15:17

back in st. Louis when I first got into the ministries was that you can talk to them once a week but if they haven’t got a place to come and get stabilized and get a job and do their wash and feel wanted then you’re not disciple income you can’t disciple somebody one day a week you have to do what Jesus did you have to take him in and say come I’ll find you a job someplace here in this community and then we’ll get you squared away and out you go as a dishwasher happens all the time

15:48

and but like you said all the neighbors complain who are all these people brought in my backyard yeah who all these people brother Brad what are you what are you starting over there this one was a homeowner who lost their house in foreclosure and a bunch of money and it was stolen by people and now she’s in worse place and she smokes cigarettes oh my god can’t be here you always ask for video and and visuals we can go around and talk to the women that are in vans but they don’t have any safe place to

16:27

even park we can’t even in a lot of the cities now they’re taking parking lots at night and assigning people they come and stay there at night and then they leave in the morning and they use it as a public parking lot you know you know and the Big Island they do it again Maui County what is with you this is not brain this is not rocket science well the models that you’re talking about when did you start doing this this way this has been done since 1910 and 85 85 yeah some of you out there 1985 where

17:03

I’m at I got to think here right that’s 30 years plus all you have to do is is when I first got here with Clarence and we opened up harbor lights was put an ad in the rooms for rent do you have 50 dollars and you want to get off the streets called brother Brad you know I joke but in 1992 as I recall I was the only person that wasn’t a me and a guy named Herman were the only two that weren’t part of the electric company the state Energy Commission this one and that one in the integrated resource

17:38

planning of the maui county there’s a gentleman who i respect very much named tom journey president of Maui electric who at that time he’s now very involved in the nurses on the side very wonderful man who has open to renewable technologies and we’ve openly discuss things I thought we were moving in good directions and Tom’s no longer working there it’ll tell you himself why but we’ve been watching this I want to say moving deckchairs notice how I jump all over Brad I told you I’d jump

18:12

Oh mm-hmm it’s like moving deck chairs on the Titanic living on Maui and are watching the mayor become Council the council become mayor they want to make sure that they have local values and share local values there are people on the street don’t have solutions there are a lot of people with money you buy a tea hey villages condo for ninety five thousand you sit on it for 30 years it’s worth four hundred thousand that’s great but there’s no place for people who live but crazy the the affordable housing

18:43

that’s 300 thousand and then they run out of candidates and they raise it to four hundred thousand immediately crazy crazy stuff going on well with any people that I’m just darling a rag head a little bit more I wonder why we don’t have people that say hey the people in our government should serve what we are doing and then help us to do better and easier the things that cause solutions to happen if we want a house people we in the community that we’d have to wait for an agency Brad took it upon himself

19:21

with those limited resources and wits to help people thank you thank you I mean I I I’m on a rag here but I am everyone that has resources could do something well it’s just the air B&B and key a has driven the price of any kind of a room to the point that is unless you have quite a bit of money you’re not going to get into the room do they know what an air B&B that means a rental that comes that is not legal right well some of you know most of them aren’t legal and but that’s driven that’s trips that’s given

19:58

somebody the ability to get at least a really enormous amount of rent per night there’s no reason to take on a uh-huh you can in three or four nights make what you could make from a renter for a month and that has been a problem and we see by the way they’re going to be things on our our next voting here in November that made it some things that are going to be on the vote like raising the fine for illegal rentals from $1,000 $25,000 well I think that’ll make a difference well it’s up to you but you

20:38

know and again the people that vote need to vote well that’ll make a really important to say that if you sit on the sidelines and you don’t vote how are you going to see things happen so don’t think it’s only for sissies or people that have copped out whether you’re Hawaiian or not whether you believe in the Kingdom of Hawaii or you want it to be here or not are you feeling arrested you are right now United States citizen and we even have same-day registration no excuse this is

21:11

the year to be voting your opinion and really looking at these candidates we’re gonna take a break in a couple of minutes you know we have two sponsors specifically I don’t know if they’re in the rotation yet cash-for-gold come on alone which is at 52 and 98 North Market Street in Wailuku they’ve been wonderful they’ve been really helping people a pawn shop is like look the man’s Bank that and women’s bank that doesn’t have good credit and needs money on a short term

21:44

or a long term that’s a good one and the other one is the Maui miracle org which is a man that believes that he wants to share the values that preserve this land and honor what we’re doing here in Maui those are our sponsors Brad we’re gonna take a break here in a minute and want you to be thinking of what you might want to be sure to talk about because I’m jumping all over the map but your experience and what you’ve been doing to help people for so long I think needed to be honored and getting you on the air

22:15

I hope you’ll come and talk about some of the things you’ve been talking about with those that are in the offices because I really think that you’ve seen some things done maybe and some things not done maybe I know I saw a letter in Facebook it was from my lady friend he’s mentioned five she’s mentioned five times to the mayor we need a light and well look at how and they closed the highway down a couple of people just died and what’s all that about it’s about a light and well the cow something

22:50

to change these problems before so many people died emergency housing emergency help opening up things that are unconventional to make a difference and you’ve been doing that you and I may be I’m boxing here I’m just talking about housing so when we come back I want you to you know open up your mind to whatever you want to talk about it right it sounds good I have visions that no one could understand but it’s that’s all out there well I’m gonna start my little commercial break here though let’s play

23:23

the jingle one more time because it there not completing high school is more of a social thing than it was an academic thing even though all these years have passed I still had that longing to have my diploma at age thirty Karissa finished her high school diploma if you’re even considering getting your nice coat Oklahoma you can do it no one gets a diploma alone if you are thinking of finishing your high school diploma you have helped find free adult education classes near you I’d finish

24:03

our diploma org that’s finish your diploma org brought to you by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and the Ad Council Aloha this is still best inviting you to join me for my show on kak u 88.5 FM it’s off the record and I have a chance to speak with some of the most interesting people on and off the island so be sure to listen in every Tuesday and Thursday from 11 until noon dear on ke ke you the voice of Maui 88.5 FM Hawaii youth service directory is online at a o8 youth comm we envision Hawaii

24:46

where all youth are connected to the support they need to walk upon a path towards health happiness and abundance 808 youth comm is a free easy-to-use online directory funded by the office of youth services if you’re looking for a family-friendly event check out our events calendar and connect with us on social media find us on Facebook Instagram and Twitter [Music] this is you over 30 years ago and this is your mom now are we there yet are we there yet roles change without us noticing that’s

25:33

why AARP gives you the information to provide even better care for your loved one visit aarp.org/denisse no for coming back earlier but I think that we should definitely know that we have great sponsors here at kak u 88.5 FM you know that every time I see a show I know that it needs to be supported by the public and we have very generous donor sponsorship packages that play someone’s name a number like it just heard some of them there and more to come crazy number of times and we find that that’s of great value so we really want

26:23

to thank all the sponsors across our whole station and I have to specifically my sponsors come on alone cash for gold and the Maui miracle org so thank you so I don’t know if they’re on or not so I’m gonna start talking um Brad last time and during the break we were talking about asking the mayor now our man is going to council let’s put that aside what did you ask him about well the last time I talked to the mayor he was at Saint Teresa’s for the feeding program I guess it was either a

27:04

Thanksgiving our Christmas and at that time there was a nice building up the street that was for sale that would have housed everybody it’s it’s it’s it’s amazing what what are you talking now his son yeah hey guys hey guy in two years ago already we had that’s been years ago he took note of it and and I said there would be a facility right there with a fantastic kitchen plenty of rooms that we could take almost everybody on Maui and put them right there a few blocks away from the beach

27:38

because right now with st. Theresa’s all the people to swarm all the heaviest tourist areas you see him in McDonald’s everywhere but you could give him a place to go so that was the last time I like I said I used to call in a lot because all we need is someone to give us a place where the neighbors won’t complain and you can house a lot of people I had 27 on a lot that was a hundred by a hundred so it’s it’s possible so that’s what we need to do is to work and get them off the streets

28:10

they’re there they’re you know you can walk at night anywhere and they’re everywhere over in kiei it’s it’s an epidemic but they have no solution and it you just saw here today we look for all the people in there there shopping carts they’ve they’ve moved them but that doesn’t mean they’re gone they’ve just moved somewhere else and that’s been the way it’s been it down at Harbor lights when I was there years ago they swarmed all over the harbor they would

28:39

come in and give them so many days to get their stuff out it just went someplace out you think this sistex that we see I think they’re accurate oh it’s all you have to do is well think I we’re not on Oahu when you see the bush move it could be a person right so the numbers are not accurate you know the thing about off of the books out of sight out of mind yep so a week just yesterday two days ago you go down all Omaha Street you thought you were in shopping cart condo land right and now there’s not a single

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one yes the question really is where are those people now and in the biggest of the Salvation Army the biggest but with shelters is is that if you put too many restrictions on who they’ll let in the people that are really desperate and really need the help okay if you go to a big celebration that you like Burning Man they have areas for different people’s problems so that they they bunch them all together and and we just can’t have so many rules against everything that that the the people that don’t have any

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of the addictions don’t eat help they’re practically normal it’s the ones that are strung out that’s the ones that that are without any facilities to help them because they’re addicted we don’t have enough that we shut down Molokini we don’t even have crazy words anymore so you can’t even you know you can try to get a woman that’s out on the streets to go there and tell him she’s thinking of committing suicide and then no actually start to work with her and give her an

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advocate and maybe to get her into the system but if she doesn’t want to clean up they’re not gonna let her do drugs in there so you know it’s it’s a it’s a severe problem and we don’t have the mental health that’s everywhere everywhere there’s not enough these people don’t need just physical help they need help you know all areas what else did you talk to the mayor about I’m just gonna pick on him cuz he’s easy to pick on well you know we know but we if

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there’s someone saying they want to mayor I’m gonna pick on all of them here’s recently I haven’t gotten through but there’s a chicken problem in Kihei we have thousands of chickens i sat in a Zeca place and had chickens defecating all over the sidewalk i sat out in front of the motor vehicle place on a day that it was closed and the woman came by with a scrub brush all she does all day is scrub up chicken manure so that was one big problem I used to call him about the affluent that we’re pumping in off of

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Kaanapali from our sewer plant could be possibly coming back to our beaches and staff is is with the people that are homeless because they’re down there on the beach and everything staff is coming maybe from the affluent that we’re putting out and off of Kaanapali and I asked him do you know that that our sewer system can’t take out prescription drugs everyone that’s up there using the sewer system is putting their prescription drugs and he said he said I know and there is no way well example

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it’s I no way there’s a hydrogen system say what ends up happening I think is someone sells someone a bill of goods so the mayor bought that thing in their waste over at the waste facility that still makes waste we still don’t you have a zero emissions program going on we are not current I mean I really don’t know it I thought I keep saying what I said earlier we’re moving chairs around on the deck of the Titanic mm-hmm this is a system that without some change without a focus on affordable housing

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now emergency and up it is nuts for people to be working at these low wages one and two jobs to be able to stay in a place that’s overly priced supporting people that own property their second or third property or an 80th property and renting it back to people that can’t afford it and driving things up and air B&B and all the things are we talking about it’s nuts and I hope that anyone that gets on council or becomes mayor considered emergency and does something immediately or the voices are gonna get

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louder here on the neutral zone see we are not neutral but we can talk about anything if you want to defend something but what we’re doing you’re welcome on 8 7 3 3 4 3 5 is the call-in number 8 7 3 3 4 3 5 yeah we’re gonna do more of this Brad what other things I mean when I say you say talk to the mayor you talk to me about things about traffic lights that after x time and cities how many years ago 40 years ago in st. Louis well 40 years ago that’s one of the things I Drive home sometimes after

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hours and I find stoplights stopping a whole bunch of people that are going in the the main through fair by people that are just one person on the side and eight of us have to break and then we have to accelerate back in st. Louis after rush hour you could go anywhere on a main thoroughfare and get a yellow light and everybody that was intersecting that would get a red light and you could really get around town but over here no matter what time if somebody happens to get there when you’re coming you’re gonna stop to watch

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him and everybody else with you and it’s a shame that’s a lot of gas and it’s a lot of braking that’s interesting you’ve watched the what are the things do you see anything I mean you always when we’re sitting around you’re often talking about different solutions that you see and he come to your mind because I know I’m just all over the map here when I really thinking is um when you’re sitting I’ve seen you sit with people that clearly I’m disturbed and they really

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need help and you show them so much compassion and you open up you know your world to them where do they go from there I mean if there’s no mental health challenge you know solutions and if there’s no jobs that are being or programs being created what what’s going on well the thing of it is is that I learned early on it that stewardship means the stewardship of your time your money and your facilities so if one comes someone comes in and they’re not showing any progress and they look like

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they’re dragging you back or are using your facilities as a cop-out or whatever it is you just have to put them into like a revolving door situation where you look at them for a while and then you say you know I usually invite people to come for a weekend and in 72 hours you can pretty well tell where they’re at mentally you can watch how many drug habits they have whether they’re sneaking out doing whatever whatever but again my calling was to reach the people that we’re doing things that nobody else

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wanted to try to help them so that’s what yeah and you mentioned you actually spoken to the man who dresses in bags I mean why is there no help for him here’s a guy who walks our Highway and Kia if you’re on this island and you haven’t seen a guy wearing green plastic bags that’s his shoes that’s anything he’s wearing and with hair that hasn’t been washed in ten years I’ve been here ten years I’ve been eating at st. Theresa’s st. Theresa zoo is a good place to get a

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gauge of how many street people there are and some you can intercede with some of the the women have brought their children there and before long they’re being taken away from them and have ruined mothers lives because their children has been taken but they’ve had no place but on the beach to house them and take care of them so the st. Theresa’s is a good place to go on a daily basis to see if there’s people that you can reach some weren’t ready for their addictions to quit how about

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mr. bag man he come meals there and again with mr. bag man you’d probably have to lure him with a pack of cigarettes okay because that’s all he does is walk and look for broken cigarettes on the ground and goes through all of the trash cans for he doesn’t he’s not even a bagger the the can people are the ones that are carried in the bags around and they get their nickels for their booze and their cigarettes it’s just it’s he’s he’s waiting for some of the people that talk

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to him I’m two straight of a person for him to talk to about other street people that I know he’s waiting for an insurance settlement and he doesnt want to look too prosperous well he doesn’t look we’ll get pictures about them how many years has he been waiting for this at least it’s and I’d love to do a documentary just by staying far enough away and following and see where he sleeps what his time schedule is like because he’s never he never misses a day of walking I mean they got to have some

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fantastic legs walking all day so it’s it’s an interesting concept and there’s another ex-army guy that it was blown out of his Humvee and he stands outside of the the local one of the local bars and and and and gets cigarettes and probably donations but he’s another one that there’s no reason that he can’t have a caboose box where he can come home at night and store his stuff most people get so much stuff stolen they they’re so possessive of everything because everybody out there is a thief

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and if you’re not there it’s gone and that means your ID it means your phone it means everything and I’d like to see some people pick themselves up when somebody took all their money all their IDs and on their phone and all their clothes I hear that not only on Maui but even on I mean on Molokai it’s uh I help someone they’ve had three phones replaced in six months and IDs replaced that’s not easy to do here on Maui is there anything that kind of stuff is crazy so the homeless pick on the homeless

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those that are downtrodden pick on those that are downtrodden you know some of these movies we see there’s a movie on Netflix I guess I can tell about that it’s called penny dreadfuls two seasons and it’s about dr. Frankenstein and the Frankenstein monster and it evolves into things about Dracula and the Wolfman and the vampires and the street people and the killings and the mutilations and the people living and eating off each other and the whole thing and it’s sadly but it seems like we’re not very much

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different now we we and those that have that blind themselves to it that’s that’s my greatest concern as people like I don’t think of myself really as a strict religious guy although you know like go to a Unity Church and I’m Jewish and you know I go to the temple but well I wonder where are the values do you see when you’re out with these people what do you see do their values improving finding a bit of self worth and respecting of another person that comes from the job and the stability but

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that the recent thing that I’ve heard on YouTube is that that the Seattle I think it is I don’t want to miss claim but there’s they’re giving tickets to fly back someplace and there was a wave here on the island for a long time that the prisoners coming out in California were given tickets to fly over Maui because it was the weather was so nice and the benefits were so great so there’s a whole wave we may be getting a whole way from Seattle because their streets are filled and what are it’s easier and

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cheaper for them to give them a ticket out of Seattle and it’s cheap to fly to Maui that’s quite comforting isn’t it my goodness I think that we should do like New Zealand in Australia we should have some place at the port of entry to ask the people with backpacks do you have any money do you know where you’re going where did you come from well you know that’s what they do at borders so basically you’re basically saying now let’s create the the separate country I guess that Kingdom of Hawaii

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well like who are these people they come here and we we can’t just take our problems and push them into the ocean so that’s well yeah and it’s interesting what’s happening worldwide is Europe now this is having to take all the refugees from the Middle East it’s war-torn and in Toronto and and and and even in in in OGG all of Canada there’s an onslaught we can’t take care of everybody they need to go back home and start unions in their town so they all can get a decent

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wage well there is no town and there is no place to live and there’s new I mean no water there is no refuge somewhere else so that doesn’t look like we’re gonna be able to have people leave but it would be nice to know it was coming I mean that’s interesting but true I mean just because someone says they’re coming to visit Mally do they have to buy a round-trip ticket no they don’t and I wonder if their statistics kept that how many people that come over get on the payroll if you

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will I don’t know what that looks like it’s it’s I can tell you one thing I see people are calling me from Molokai that are homeless and they keep picking up phone numbers and there are very few that are 808 there are people from all over that are living here it’s nice and warm that have mainland phone numbers and to me that just connotes that we get more and more people here if you imagine if you were Hawaiian that song that Israel Kamaka viola saying about imagine you with a king and queen

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and you came back here and they say don’t go there well all you have to do to if you really want to get depressed is go to Oahu and I the last time I was over there which has been awhile ago I use my odometer on my rental car and there was 20 miles of blue tarp aliens along one side of Oahu with 20,000 homeless people in it well I don’t think they report those kind of numbers now is that because they’re no longer reporting those that what happens you lose them in the bush that doesn’t count now it’s is that

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what’s going on here in all my history are they tracking those people where they go that’s it it’s like you know push in here and comes out there like you know a disease in our body and and again if you come over as a missionary one of the reasons that DARS todd’s they had so many facilities but they were rusting and rat rat infested I tried to open a ministry with helping guys have surfboards back there in the bay behind their their youth mission and I got in trouble because there was too many

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Hawaiians coming to the back door to get a surfboard to sign out a surfboard so the the even some of the institution’s was with really nice property they’re not utilizing and that always scared me because I didn’t want Jesus to come back and go why aren’t you using this what why is this sitting idle so that was why I ran into Clarence Kamiya and he said take your money and buy some units and harbor lights let’s get something done Clarence come on I met him didn’t know him for many years

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but I always found him to be incredibly loving and he was a he was he came from he was a harbor master and he drank a lot and he really didn’t like us white people okay and Todd’s it really softened his heart and he just and we’re all down here and we have to be brothers because if we’re not we don’t want Jesus because he demands fellowship he demands that we take and help as many people as we can he looks for unselfish social service and unsolicited random acts of kindness put them in your pipe and try

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smoking that every day and telling the truth to everybody those don’t seem that foreign to me but I guess you know we speak about it people grow up in different environments then we all have to be leaders and lead by example I’m glad to hear that you know do you find that people are picking up on it at all well it’s it’s sudden what’s brought to their their they can’t make a good judgment unless they get knowledge and it would super Blair there are news sources all my my push now is

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to bring be a spirit of truth I think a lot of people are living in an illusion they don’t look at all of what’s happening out there in the world cuz it’s too negative so they live in an illusion that’s a dream world without any problems and they’re everywhere and they push them aside and say okay I got what I need let me put up a wall around me and protect me and mine because otherwise that we’re gonna lose this stuff and we keep separating and breaking ourselves into separate

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compartments how is that gonna work for a society how is it working for our society it’s it’s a it’s a it’s this did you have to get down in the trenches you have to go where these people are you have to talk to them you have to set up relationships and it’s it’s it’s a calling you have to find someone that has the calling to do that because it’s taxing in that you’re going into people’s lives that that are so messed up that they can drain you of your hope

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of a change because they’re so encrusted and rooted tormented whatever and with our AIESEC epidemic over here the crystal meth there there are there are people’s life being ruined and after you on ice for eight years your brain is kind of fried and all you can do is go to the to our mental facilities and they’ll give you some drugs to turn you into a zombie well that’s not comforting but you know I am sadly see that you know it’s like let’s marginalize this problem by medicating it let’s not in any way

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attack the social Norm’s let’s not get people to appreciate and see more loving ways let’s drug it and stay with the way that we’re doing it we sure have had that problem going on here on Mallya I’m going back to the politicians I’m gonna take off my gloves I was gonna call this show gloves off but I thought that it would be too bloody but I may need it it’s like how can we have leadership that doesn’t show compassion and doesn’t Express when an emergency exists and and

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help all the people have some way to move forward in their lives and put this together how much more do we have to accumulate and separate I don’t understand that I’ve been here since 95 and I think I don’t know which merit was dated the suggestion is that you don’t want to make it too comfortable you don’t want to be an attractant okay and and and again like in Kihei st. Theresa’s church is taking all kinds of of opposition because they all huddle around the area that’s why if we had

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some place away from the tourist section where they could come and get meals and and parked themselves and put stuff in the Salvation Army in Lahaina used to have a locker that you could get your own locker and put that I kept people the women and stick people on the streets from getting everything stolen what happened I guess it’s too much of a problem they’re not staffed anymore they’re not even housing anybody in the middle of Kahului so I don’t know what they’re so basically I’m here what

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happened is the people that use it find that there are some people that use the facilities that add the violence well there was rumor than each other that was and it’s too much for someone to handle and so services become less say what they had to discontinue the police get involved I know that’s a rough job you know policeman Clarence and Kamiya and I we started one of the first we helped start a shelter out in the pipe yard in puah Nene it was a Catholic Church out there that we started and I applied as directorship of

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it and I missed it because of my wife was not interested in living with homeless but you have to live with these people and we started it and it became a drug Haven and before long the police were out there long because someone has to live there and know the place and it was it was fantastic at first and it just you have to have the right staffing it’s hard to do well I know that there are some people and agencies I know some people I don’t want to mention by name it are out giving out clean needles and

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their jobs that they’re out there trying to you know not stop something but bring help I hope they also bring the idea I don’t know how to get it into the people to have more resources now we’re all in this together hmm that we need something to raise all ships we have to find the common denominator at least on an emergency basis to begin with to bring things up and cool down these problems that we see I mean I just I’m on overwhelmed looking around and seeing the challenges that we have in

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our in our community now I’m hoping that the new round of council people will become very active in solving emergencies on an emergency basis and then to the mayor I’m thrilled that our mayor won’t be king for any longer I say that nicely but your king can be benevolent and it’s benevolent to declare an emergency and help people I mean it just really bothers me that we haven’t seen emergency on everybody’s hat because this is out of control well tent city would do fine at that

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would at least get everybody in one place so they’re not well at all our thing you know tent city we’ve gotta find the places that’s what you’re doing that we all get it and consider it a priority so homelessness seems to be at the top of our list we’ve got about a minute left Brad and we’re gonna be signing off what do you want to be sharing that you think is the most important thing you want to say well if there’s anyone that has a building piece of property a house or

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anyone that that thinks their neighborhood could stand an influx of people I’ve my my all of my shelters they came in after dark and left as the same can’t Sun came up anybody had a place have them call you good I like hearing that well this is Jason Schwartz I’m here with a brother Brad Kossman here in Kahului  KAKU you the voice of Maui eighty eight and a half fm we need more than an hour that just shows me we got a lot to say thank you for listening thank you for being with us we will see you next week

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at eleven o’clock on Monday Aloha you