LISA DARCY Champions the cause of the Houseless – Share Your Mana

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Jason Schwartz with LISA DARCY– Lisa Darcy. Lisa is SHARE YOUR MANA Foundation. Homeless and challenged people need to better understand HOW she might help you navigate the troubled waters ! ….6-10-2019

Summary & Transcript Below…

Interview with Lisa Darcy on Homelessness and Community Solutions in Maui

• [00:00 → 05:17] Introduction and Context
  Jason Schwartz opens the show with a warm welcome and introduces Lisa Darcy, a longtime community advocate and head of the nonprofit “Share Your Mana.” Lisa has been involved in Maui’s community for 15 years, focusing on helping marginalized populations including the homeless. The conversation highlights her previous appearance and connection with the community, emphasizing the importance of addressing difficult topics related to poverty, homelessness, dignity, and death. Lisa notes that many in the community die without proper dignity or support. The interview is framed within the broader conversation about how to connect funding to meaningful programs and the need for open dialogue about life and death issues, particularly for the homeless.

• [05:17 → 10:38] Research, Community Isolation, and Removing Barriers
  Lisa shares her observations about Maui’s insularity, noting that unlike other places, Maui rarely sends representatives to conferences or brings back innovative ideas for homeless services. She contrasts this with her experiences on the mainland and abroad, where collaboration and learning are integral to improving services. She recounts her own travels to London, where she engaged directly with people experiencing homelessness, emphasizing the importance of face-to-face contact and understanding local contexts. Lisa’s core message is about “removing barriers” — whether those barriers are physical, social, or systemic — to improve the quality of life for all, regardless of shelter status or economic background.
• [10:38 → 16:58] Loss of Employment Support Services and Basic Needs Barriers
  Lisa describes a significant decline in employment support services in Maui over the past decade, citing the near disappearance of programs like the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) and the one-stop vocational shop. These programs once provided critical assistance such as resume-building, job matching, and computer access, all vital for marginalized individuals trying to find work. The loss of these services has created enormous barriers, particularly for those without access to computers or stable internet. Additionally, she highlights the closure of employment programs at shelters like Kahala A Ke Ola.
  Lisa stresses the importance of low-barrier access to basic needs such as showers, bathrooms, and laundry facilities, which are often overlooked but essential for someone trying to get back on their feet. She critiques shelter policies that force people to leave during the day, making it impossible for them to carry their belongings and attend appointments. This systemic rigidity exacerbates the hardships faced by homeless individuals.
• [16:58 → 22:45] Mental Health, Community Attitudes, and Sharing Resources
  The discussion turns to mental health and the stigma surrounding it, with Lisa noting how people with untreated mental health issues are often unfairly judged or criticized. She argues for a compassionate approach that recognizes mental health as a medical issue rather than a behavioral flaw. Lisa also touches on the scarcity of basic support like storage for personal belongings and places to do laundry, which compounds the difficulty of living without stable housing.
  She emphasizes the need for the community to shift attitudes from judgment and criticism to empathy and action. Sharing resources without judgment and encouraging community involvement are key. Lisa advocates for “raising the bar” on access to services and dignity, rather than forcing people to prove their worthiness repeatedly. She suggests that community members can help by volunteering, advocating for legislative change, and participating in local government processes.
• [22:45 → 33:13] Challenges of Housing and Population Growth in Maui
  Lisa addresses the complex issue of housing availability, explaining that Maui is facing overpopulation relative to its infrastructure and resources. She is careful about language, rejecting the idea that people should simply “stay away” but acknowledges the reality that Maui cannot support unlimited growth. She discusses the “elephant in the room”—the fear that creating solutions will attract more homeless people from outside the island. This fear influences policy and community attitudes toward homelessness solutions.
  The conversation highlights Maui’s reputation as a desirable place to live and vacation, which paradoxically drives up housing costs and displaces residents. Lisa points out that many newcomers who move to Maui for its beauty end up quickly becoming vulnerable to homelessness due to the high cost of living. This dynamic complicates efforts to address homelessness, as the community wrestles with balancing growth, tourism, and local needs.
• [33:13 → 41:19] Need for Community-Based Solutions and Critique of Current Systems
  Lisa expresses frustration with the current approach to homelessness, which relies heavily on the Maui Homeless Alliance and government funding streams that are often outdated and insufficient. She explains that federal funding and policies lag behind the actual needs on the ground by 10 to 15 years. This disconnect results in inadequate responses to a crisis that has been ongoing for over a decade.
  She advocates for a transformation in community mindset, encouraging individuals to get involved politically and socially to help create change. Lisa insists that everyone has a role to play and that blaming or criticizing only perpetuates the problem. She calls for a more collective, compassionate approach that includes non-governmental actors and grassroots initiatives.
• [41:19 → 47:51] Critique of the Maui Homeless Alliance, Housing First Model, and Resistance to Innovative Approaches
  Lisa critiques the dominance of the “housing first” model promoted by the Maui Homeless Alliance, arguing that it is necessary but insufficient by itself. She shares her experience of proposing smaller, varied shelters tailored to different needs (e.g., accommodating pets, couples, sobriety requirements), which was rejected by the Alliance and some government agencies. She sees this as a missed opportunity to serve more people and provide flexible, humane options.
  The resistance to such proposals may stem from bureaucratic inertia, funding constraints, or rigid policy frameworks. Lisa encourages the public to attend Alliance meetings and participate more actively in discussions, despite the perceived bureaucracy and lack of “teeth” in current processes. She also volunteers at the Maui Correctional Facility and recognizes the importance of mentoring and rehabilitation programs as part of the broader social safety net.
• [47:51 → 54:59] Community Engagement, Volunteerism, and Practical Support
  Lisa shares practical examples of community-driven support, such as organizing calendars for neighbors to help each other with tasks like showering and meal preparation. She stresses that small, manageable acts of kindness and support can break cycles of isolation and build trust. However, she acknowledges that individual efforts alone cannot meet the scale of need, pointing to systemic gaps and opposition among some agencies to expanding services like mobile showers or storage solutions.
  She emphasizes the importance of community education to reduce stigma and judgment, especially around mental health and addiction. Lisa advocates for honest, tough conversations about homelessness without demonizing those affected or the agencies trying to help, recognizing that resources are limited and workers are often burned out.
• [54:59 → 56:10] Closing Remarks and Call to Action
  The interview concludes with Lisa urging the community to engage deeply with homelessness issues, to suspend judgment, and to participate in creating solutions. She encourages people to connect with Share Your Mana and other local nonprofits to contribute or seek help. Jason Schwartz thanks Lisa for her continued dedication and emphasizes that dialogue is essential for progress. The show previews upcoming guests and invites listeners to stay involved.

1. 1. 1. Key Insights and Themes

• Removing Barriers: Lisa’s central theme is that physical, systemic, and social barriers must be lowered or removed to help marginalized individuals access employment, housing, and basic needs.
• Community Involvement: Real change requires active community participation—volunteering, advocacy, and political engagement—not just reliance on government agencies.
• Critique of Current Systems: Many existing programs are underfunded, outdated, or too rigid, emphasizing one-size-fits-all approaches like “housing first” while ignoring smaller, flexible solutions.
• Compassion and Understanding: Mental health issues and poverty require empathy rather than judgment, and the community must shift attitudes accordingly.
• Maui’s Unique Challenges: The island’s limited housing, tourist-driven economy, and cultural dynamics create complex challenges that need tailored responses.
• Practical Solutions: Small acts of kindness and grassroots initiatives, such as mobile employment vans and coordinated volunteer calendars, can provide immediate relief while broader systemic change is pursued.

1. 1. 1. Keywords

Homelessness, Maui, Share Your Mana, community engagement, barriers, employment services, mental health, housing first, low-barrier shelters, nonprofit, advocacy, stigma, tourism impact, affordable housing, community solutions, volunteerism, public policy, interagency collaboration.

1. 1. 1. FAQ

Q: What is the main challenge with homelessness services in Maui?
A: Many services have lost funding, and rigid policies limit access to basic needs like showers and storage, while government programs lag behind actual needs.

Q: What does “removing barriers” mean in this context?
A: It means eliminating obstacles that prevent people from accessing jobs, housing, and essential services, such as lack of transportation, internet, or flexible shelter rules.

Q: How can community members help?
A: By volunteering, participating in local government meetings, donating resources, and shifting attitudes from judgment to empathy.

Q: What is Lisa Darcy’s critique of the “housing first” approach?
A: While important, it is not sufficient alone; smaller, varied shelter options and community-based solutions are also necessary.

Q: Why is Maui’s situation unique?
A: Maui’s limited housing stock, high cost of living, and tourism-driven economy exacerbate homelessness, requiring tailored, innovative approaches.

This comprehensive summary captures the structure, content, and nuanced arguments presented by Lisa Darcy and Jason Schwartz regarding homelessness and community responses in Maui.

00:00

no hello it’s Monday at 11 a.m. June 10th I have a Lisa Darcy [Music] [Music] [Music] hello everyone I’m Jason Schwartz it’s Monday June 10th 2019 that seems really odd I think it’s really like 1999 and even that seems pretty odd it’s 2019 that makes me old or older than most I’m 68 years old when I hear that number I think my goodness after all these years the world isn’t right yet and so here at the neutral zone in honor of the people that put their heart and soul into life

01:38

I brought a guest that was on here in our first few shows probably the first half a dozen Lisa Darcy who many of our local people know hi Lisa good morning Lisa is the head of a foundation called share your mana technically it’s a non-profit not a foundation but that’s okay well what’s the difference no need to go into that we can all right well see now that just shows you I have a non-profit foundation so maybe I’m using the name in proprietary it could be but it might not be being

02:12

that no one has given me money we’ll talk about how to get money and we’re that’s probably a good subject for a show you know there’s lots of money out there and there’s lots of things going on but how do you touch the people that have the money to be able to put money into you to be able to effect programs I guess it’s a matter of communication lisa has been here in our community now how many years 15 15 years and when I go out on the street I just ask someone actually who wasn’t homeless now but for

02:49

the grace of God but I said who’d be a good guest and she said Lisa Darcy I said well Lisa Darcy was already on her show well she should be on again because she has a huge heart and so I just want you to know your whatever you’re doing out there the people that are out there that need help some of them at least know that you’ve been knocking on that door a long time thank you for all that you give and do oh it is it’s my pleasure to serve and now I understand someone told me Lisa

03:25

Darcy’s your guest G was on Thursday with bori bori be one of our community who has show called death tracks and the deaths tour and such had you on are you talking about death related things so I think everything in life is related to death and so maybe I’m a guest with you and with a number of the individuals in this organization because ikkaku tries to get to the heart of a lot of issues and I think once you get to the heart of life and death you can actually have dialogues about all that stuff that’s in

04:04

between all that’s gray so your time with Bodie wasn’t specifically guided about homeless people and what happens oh yes we will definitely and we have talked about how to intersect in terms of assisting people who are either marginalized poverty mental health whatever it is homeless and having them have the dignity and the sacred beauty of of when they die how they’re just not forgotten people you know we have a very wealthy community and to think that people are dying just like off but you

04:41

know all by themselves or have no funds to have any sort of dignity with the type of death that they would like is is something that I think there are a lot of people that would be interested in championing so you talked on the show I’m just thinking I hope that everyone knows that Facebook live at kak u FM on Facebook these are all recorded in facebook live I have mine on my own website Maui neutral zone but I’m sure that up there at Facebook live in kak you he’ll find for example your show is probably up there probably

05:17

so the good information cuz when I said I want to have Lisa Darcy as a guest my thought was well she was here before let’s take a little check back with some of the people in our community to see how are we doing on some of these things that we want to be supportive of so I’m gonna let you kind of take the lead because I I know you came in highly energized today and organized that means you have something you’d really like to share which I’m real happy to hear well yeah I am I’m always doing some research

05:54

I’m always looking around I’m always seeing what’s going out because we’re really inflated community now he is even in inside of Hawaii we are pretty insulated in terms of whatever weak people we don’t go to a lot of conferences we don’t bring a lot of information back from other places in the world it’s starting to happen and I’ve seen some county council members in the last two years that have traveled to learn about individuals that are living on sheltered we don’t it’s not a general

06:20

part of of kind of the community here it’s really more tactile face-to-face community oriented so which makes it kind of a rural it means that when I was on the mainland to see it in your face yeah when I was on the mainland it was a it was part of all the jobs of any job that I had that I would travel that I would go to conferences and when you went to a conference you were to bring it back and you would implement whatever was working somewhere else it wasn’t like oh yeah we went out and we had

06:47

dinner we did this and you didn’t post things about having fun and you know we worked our butts off when we went to con conferences and we had a responsibility to bring it whatever we learned back into the program we were at and you don’t see that happening no not at all not at all have you let’s say asked or encouraged yes I want to say main know what well not nightmare but I just whatever wherever I whatever organization I’ve worked in and so what I mean by that yeah here on Maui’s

07:18

people tend to just you know try to solve it with themselves and I have to say that my experiences I’ve worked with individuals internationally and when you get that sort of collaboration together and you get people in the room who have really gone through some tough issues it doesn’t matter who or what you are everybody learns from each other and I just think that we would benefit from that a lot here in Maui and since we don’t I do my own research and I go and I talk and when I travel I always go to

07:52

I went to London last year and I actually spent two days knocking on doors for some of the programs there just literally showing up it’s a lot harder to just show up and say hey I want to talk to somebody they there there are houseless crisis looks a lot different than ours does and yeah but I would literally just stand into back alley streets and talk with people and mostly would consider really sketchy and probably maybe not that intelligent of a decision to do but I’ve always had really really I mean I have a skill set

08:31

that allows me you to go out into the trenches if you will we have more than trenches really dark yeah right yeah areas they talk with people and I was like and if people don’t want to talk to me they’ll let you know they don’t want to talk to you okay that’s cool whatever you know it looks very different so I’m always I’m always wherever I go trying to find some solutions somewhere can you give us a capsulation of what’s what noticeably felt different well what I’m

09:00

gonna do is I’m actually going to tied into when I came into here with some energy it’s because I’ve listened to a couple of podcasts over the last couple of days and I’ve read a couple of different sites other than the what we have you know on the front pages of our papers here which is really doesn’t anyway so some of the things that I’ve been listening to that have reaffirmed a position that I take here on Maui which is I think why people respect what I have to say is that I’m

09:31

speaking from their truth and not my truth and their truth is that this these are the things that have happened to them and so then I’m looking to go well that if that’s a barrier how do we remove the barrier and this can be applied to any aspect of anybody’s life no matter whether you’re sheltered or unsheltered wealthy or not happy or sad I mean barrier is a barrier and if you look at it as a set of equations and what do we need to do to improve someone’s quality of life or give them

10:02

the tools to improve their quality of life so my my concept today was all about removing barriers okay well I’m gonna remove a barrier that might be between you and being able to communicate what you want to talk about here and that I’m giving you full freedom to kind of take the lead now I can ask questions but I’m sure that what you have to say is something I want to hear so knock us out okay so here’s an example of some of the things historically that have happened over the last 10 15 years on Maui there have been

10:38

pretty much all of the organizations that assisted people in terms of being able to gain employment those agencies have lost their funding okay so you had DVR which division of vocational rehabilitation which what I came here was a ton of it it was a pretty thriving department and I it’s pretty much it’s pretty much bare-bones if that even anymore it doesn’t have the what do they do hi mr. employer we are looking to employ people that have a you identify these people as have challenges or you’re just

11:18

looking to create new jobs and then they post them is that what this is no so DVR is a government funded agency that was in the State Building and depending upon your income or disability they were available to help in a lot of ways kind of coach people and they had the resources to coach people so they would coach anyone honey you could go in yeah yeah just a lot of people with disabilities as well and they would help match people up with different types of jobs they would send people over to there was a program called the one-stop

11:53

vocational shop and it had computers you could work on your resume they had job postings they were they were kind of a connection site also mm-hmm state-funded no not so yeah neither of those two really exist anymore a budget somewhere somewhere yeah the other piece that I wouldn’t I actually when I was at home wanna I mean I I can’t I I really need to go look at the amount of numbers of people that help get jobs sometimes even in the same day it was remarkable that when somebody walked through the door

12:28

didn’t have a resume and if I wasn’t working with someone then or even if I had an appointment if I made an appointment with him they came in there were days that sometimes we whipped a resume up went on Craigslist posted got a call and in 24 hours that person had an interview okay now that’s almost impossible if you are living marginalized and you don’t have access to a computer you don’t have access to any internet you don’t have you know like if you if you live outside or

12:59

something your things get stolen your computer we do things all the time I mean these are what I’m thinking these are barriers you anybody who has a computer imagine if your computer was gone tomorrow or today it would just disappeared how would you function so removing access to barriers Oh even it you know Kahala a keola the shelter they reduced and eliminated their Employment Program there which they lost their funding for which to me were just absolute basic basic needs in our community I was making this decision

13:37

well you know I I don’t know I don’t I was very clear when I heard about these things they were going to setback enormous amounts of people and I you know you don’t I don’t I don’t know who makes these decisions and that’s part of it is like even just following legislation is a full-time job so you can’t sit down and be sitting with people in writing resumes but also following all the legislation which is what I was trying to do for a little while and it just burns you out because

14:07

it’s really it’s it’s complex and and people don’t make always decisions upfront decisions are made without you know full knowledge or full disclosure and anyway so access to success and people say they say low you know having low barriers I always think of it as a limbo bar you have a limbo like I’m not that flexible so I will lose the limbo I mean I won’t even every single time but some people can limbo low okay so the point is if you want people to play you’re gonna have to start the bar high

14:42

and so that’s it’s like kind of the visual reverse of loped you know the low barrier raise the bar right so lee’s raise the bar to seeing success versus like making people earn certain steps all the time like you people can’t have to beg for internet access or use of a computer or taking a shower or going to the bathroom and I feel like so much of our community is these basic things people they almost it’s like it’s not seen as a human need like a basic need first also it’s not seen as a

15:18

responsibility by many people that they can help provide some of the solutions they point at oh there’s an agency to do that oh there’s a place over there that is probably the barrier that I noticed the most which is people have resources they’re not so quick to want to share them well and without judgment to anybody and how they use their resources I think my job and your job is to make what we do look attractive and be attractive so that I think it’s very fair to say people want a bang for their

15:55

buck and I I subscribe to that in a lot of ways and I never just asked people for money but what do you do is saying okay I’m going to do this project like I have this I’ve written up a project where a mobile employment van where you know it has computers and then you’ll go you know I can go anywhere and I’ll have Wi-Fi access and I could print out people’s stuff for them if they need it it’s really impossible to to have any sort of forward progress in your life if you don’t have this kind of electronic

16:29

access and because people are just trying to find bathrooms you know they’re just trying to do their laundry they’re just trying to a place to put their stuff you can’t actually go get a job and have to carry there like Santa Claus so this is an important piece of low barrier access is that most shelters are designed where you people have to be out like it’s 7:00 in the morning and they can’t come in until like 6:00 at night or something like that I mean imagine if you to take everything you

16:58

owned with you for the whole day and then you’ve got to go to you’ve got to go to appointments you’ve got to carry your food you’ve got to do what you can’t it just it’s never made sense to me and constantly a problem well in people you don’t think you’re criticizing them I’m like um it’s not a criticism but have you tried it like I think everybody who implements these rules needs to live the rules for a couple of weeks themselves and see how takers no I know and I think it I’ve

17:29

offered remember years ago those are going to enjoy Clinton that would jump in different careers and you know the norm as a paper lion he was a Detroit lion for a day but that’s it is like walk in my shoes the people out there are struggling at levels that most people really king survival like really actually instinctually just trying to survive and so when someone comes in in a bad mood I was never was never upset with them or I don’t say don’t leave until you have a better attitude you

18:03

know you would say what’s going on you know just sit down for a minute what’s going on and then you can determine I mean there could be mental health issues that are untreated as well and you can that we get angry at people for having mental health issues we can angry nobody gets angry at anyone for having diabetes or having cancer or or any of these things I mean people just get downright angry and part of that is the lack of understanding of what even mental health needs are and this is an

18:31

across-the-board issue of calling it mental health a lot of people have a real issue with that I mean anyway yeah I see all the issues on the street sadly I know people that are homeless still I know people that were living in a home couldn’t find a place because the rents were too high live in their car with kids like you’re talking about have to try to find bathrooms place to keep the dirty laundry somewhere while you’re trying to live in the car and storage is so high have you seen answers you talked

19:07

about being out in the world there any answers that you see from other places that might implement it here yeah so one of the things that and this is a little controversial for Maui and and and it’s a no surprise or anyone who’s followed any of the work that I’ve done is I really feel like we have there we leave everything to the my homeless alliance and I feel that the Maui homeless alliance is directed by what government funding they get this is my experience so the agencies are following

19:49

through with their their funding from the federal government might my experience is the federal government in the way that it’s implemented here on Maui is about 10 to 15 years behind the curve of need so in the meantime what do you do in terms of the crisis I mean Maui has a full-on crisis I wrote an article over 10 years ago sound the alarm it was 10 years ago and I was absolutely floored at the lack of any sort of urgency that’s being applied to this discussion and just watching the amount of people stay suffering these

20:24

cycles there’s no way to get out of the cycles and seeing the community criticize individuals the you know for them being in it and I was like there’s such a disconnect with the council what’s happening with these departments and the mayor that we could change I mean when I could go off on my stories also about this right along it’s like what are we doing how are we going to and so I actually believe that Maui right here and right now we need to transform ourselves and we need to

20:58

understand each one of us has power in this and each one of us can make a difference and when we collectively start to move forward instead of just being siloed in our little discussions with our general little family or our friends and families or whoever we then yeah it’s another thing is people have got to actually show up and take some action and you’ve got to get involved in County Council you’ve got to get involved in the political cycles you’ve got to get involved in agencies when you

21:32

see something is not is not producing a success and you and every one of us has every reason to say why isn’t that happening and what can I do to help and not criticize that that’s a nice piece you added what can I do to help that is for every one of us this is I don’t believe this canoe has any hope and turning if the community doesn’t step up and say what can I do to help and they’re gonna have to each one of us is gonna have to do the work to put our own attitudes to the side and our own judgments and that’s

22:06

where I think a lot of work needs to be put and and that’s why I should share your monitor earlier we’re right and it’s a change inside it’s realizing that the person next to you but by the grace of God could be you or someone you do know or just it doesn’t matter if we know them or not that I mean there’s just no reason yeah for people to with the the wealth that we have on all the emotional the physical the financial the spiritual wealth that we have it’s got to be shared and and we we really have

22:45

to refrain from criticism and judgment which is not an easy task but we need to help each other do that and no matter whether we’re friends are not to be able to switch a conversation around from the complaining to well you know I was gonna go and get involved in this agency or I’m gonna volunteer here I’m gonna do this and switch your TV’s off one night a week and yeah and and participate in in learning about legislation of the stuff cuz I always wondered you know I think I’ve done it personally and

23:20

sometimes it can be significantly challenging but helping people that need to have a shower once in a while as it sure you can come and then they become stuck in this loop of needing you to be there for them there’s no relief because although I might have a couple of nights a week or once a week or something that’s only one night a week there’s six other night saying that I become the one and then right I had a guy a day after Christmas someone was at my place and challenged physically and they were there resting

23:58

in the back room and this guy wanted to come and take a shower and he just got ballistic because I helped him before and now he couldn’t like right what do you do with that so what would I need to do with that is we need to do some community trainings with anybody in the community and say you know if you will come in the office and I would be able to help them when I was at home Juana and I would be very clear I said this is not a long-term solution this is it may be a solution just for today and we want

24:32

to make sure you leave this office feeling a lot better than when you came in and sometimes it’s just a conversation it may not be actual connecting to all of these other things sometimes it was just about being seen and heard that was painful though it was painful because I saw people with sores on their bodies I saw people who had families I saw people who wanted to work desperately and didn’t have the mental capacity to be able to follow through they really needed a case manager they needed

25:02

medications they need all these things every single day that’s why I said we got to dial it down we got to dial it down to even sometimes just being if just for today if just for today I you know I posted something on Facebook about the forks people are complaining about waste and trash and every single day people pick up plastic forks and they pick up plastic cups and they throw it out and I just look at I go what are you doing you like carry a fork with you carry your your your container you know

25:35

and if you don’t have one this is something you can do let’s get some water bottles for people so that they don’t have to keep taking plastic or they don’t have to keep buying things this isn’t this this is one of the things I want to get a little share your mana bottle and and being able to pass those around and say hey or maybe some people could we could start a little fund where we have the containers with this I’m gonna break in we’re gonna jump to our sponsors and supporters of public radio

26:04

you know we are really the voice of Maui and we want our sponsors to know we really appreciate them and we’ll be back with Lisa Darcy and took more here in a minute so you guys hang on the neutral zone with me Jason Schwartz would like to sincerely thank David Bryan for his support David was founder and head of school at new Road School in Santa Monica California and as the board chair at the Ojai Foundation and on the board for brave new films the neutral zone is heard live Mondays at 11:00 a.m. here on

26:38

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27:12

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27:54

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cuisine on Prison Street in line or for takeout call six six one four zero five eight Thank You Jill on goes Mexican cuisine for your support of Miriam and the Latino connection Fridays at noon on kak u 88.5 FM the voice of Maui hey there I’m back with Lisa Darcy here at the neutral zone I’m Jason Schwartz we’re on Maui for all you people wherever you are come on visit I don’t want you to stay though I’m afraid that we don’t have enough housing here in fact we don’t have enough housing yet

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I’m gonna interrupt you on that because shame on you why is that I don’t you can you can don’t I don’t want you to stay what we have to what are the challenges I think is I don’t want you to stay I don’t like those words yeah well I you know cuz I think language is extraordinarily important and winning in relationships and I know you so I to me we mean is we are we’re starting to sink because we are over over the number of people that can be here over saturation Harvey point

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where we’re losing the things that make made Maui special it got me here thirty years ago and I’m still here I am part of the problem here I am do we need to just rearrange or remaning do you think that we need 115 thousand ten thousand affordable homes we know it now where’s my elephant I had an elephant and I would hold the elephant in the room up this is one of the major pieces I think it never gets discussed openly at the my homeless Alliance and and I became very like it felt stifled elephant is if we actually

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create positive solutions everybody’s going to come here well the mayor the old mayor said to me we can’t make it too attractive and have solutions that all the homeless in the world are going to come here and start using us right so so here’s here’s the tourist dilemma and I really find it very very closely related and I anybody could you know open my eyes this is just my experiences that Maui has been at the top of the tourist charts for and all these beautiful magazines everything right for

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how long I mean the advertising for the the beauty of Maui has reached everywhere around the world okay so it doesn’t it seem really logical that if you are selling this gorgeous product people are gonna want lots of it they’re gonna want lots of it and you make it so that people can have a piece of it but then you have to go home you know how you just said you can stay here but then you have to go I like to think of us and when I start let me finish this point and my point is of to go there were lots

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of people in the office that I had before they came and had come on vacation or they’d come somewhere and they said oh my god Maui is amazing it was beautiful and I want and I moved here and I moved here with my partner or we did this and that and and then something went wrong and they ended up I’m sheltered very quickly you know you unless you have a very very secure place of employment and it is enough to maintain the financial component of rent and all of the other pieces it’s very

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expensive to live here if you are not aware of that and that is not in that beautiful little package oh and by the way this is the reality you know then you you you’re putting out everywhere go everyone you talk to you can’t I can’t go back to my last place where I lived and I say living now and they’re like oh my god you live in paradise it’s perfect there is some truth to that there’s a piece of the elements of nature I think are so intoxicating and the Ohana the sense of Ohana was really amazing but

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here’s the thing it it’s in complete conflict then with people moving here if you sell this beautiful package and you think people aren’t going to want to come here or you think that someone who’s down-and-out who hasn’t looked at a magazine it says I need a change in my life I’m gonna move somewhere where it’s perfect you I mean like the advertising and the way that it’s been demonstrated to the world is it’s perfect here who wouldn’t want to come here so how does

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that deal with our problem I got you so it’s I think it’s directly related to everybody dragging their feet to make all kinds of there’s so many solutions outside of Maui even in other counties they’re providing different sorts of solutions but Maui is super entrenched in this attitude and as long as it stays the attitude where we don’t want people coming here I mean it sounds like I was building a wall you know we don’t want people coming here how do you but I’m trying to hear what you’re saying cuz

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you just talked about things in other areas we could do to help here yeah got that but we’re trying to promote this as a as a beautiful destination we’re going to do right and I said and go home what I meant is go home and see the solutions that we implement here that’s the reason I formed my nonprofit all these years ago was to say let’s build an example places show the world not have them come here and live here it’s all right I mean we know we’re an occupied country that’s

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a whole second but we have too many people here we have too many people here we don’t have a why what do you mean why do we have to know again I try to figure out where are we putting people in fordable homes who is we orbble right well though the we as we as a community we’re on an island and to me if we don’t think as a we I don’t have any say in that it’s not a we that includes me well so I’m saying I mean I could include you right I mean it is it is like you have solutions and we’re trying to put it

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into bite-sized pieces so people help and it’s sort of like band-aids oh no on a wall for the dam is gonna break anything I don’t think there are enough affordable when people have the money they can’t find a place to move when they don’t have the money and there are no places to live we the people that are building we should more than encourage them to build what we need to see happening and right means government right that doesn’t mean profits can’t be in the private sector

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and we can’t start in the private sector and have the government say oh that’s a great idea so one of the pieces that I listened to coming in this past week was and I said I always find that Maui’s about 10 to 15 years behind what is happening with the government in the government I think is actually behind you know how other communities can actually if they’re if they’re nonprofit sector which is fully nonprofit and not it like fully a full community like I don’t want to take any

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money at all from state federal or County money I want I want it to be completely just based on community because I believe they have got to intersect and they’ve got to be involved in these in the solutions and I don’t see them very well represented for for a number of reasons but here’s one of the things that has been put across the the banner for the interagency Council on homelessness the u.s. inner agency is there have now been very clearly saying that sometimes a community doesn’t need

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just one or two larger shelters what they need are multiple smaller shelters that even have different flavors to them and that’s what I that’s just a simple to me that would be a simple way to actually access a lot more people people who have pets maybe or people who have partners or people that are having sobriety needs and and are not you know really getting their their agencies would have we had smaller shelters several and and instead of just these bigger larger ones where and we only

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have like the two what if they were broken or the monies went into smaller like satellite ones where people stepped into the larger it which you know because it’s supposed to they’re intended to be steps into independence you mean first it’s a dormitory and then it goes to individual I don’t know dormitory but maybe is even like a campsite or something I think what I’m trying to say is I’m hearing you mm-hmm and yet that’s still the government doing it it’s not getting the the

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community I’m keeping thinking that the immunity is needs to be where the involvement goes right well the only place like an example the government can encourage that activity through tax breaks to urge developers to build well so you know how OMA wanna did that okay and they were actually when testimony was allowed the homeless Alliance clearly stated they were not in support of a homo on a project why because it wasn’t you know what they said it was under their control because it wasn’t housing first

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and this is I think a massive miss for Maui County is that the thing on the west side where you guys want to provide showers and sort of first services out to me it was actually a really beautiful kind of campground oh I see it was going to have the elements kind of of being really really simple close to nature but it had it had all of the points that were important all of your stuff would be safe you can have partners you could have families you could have access to water and showers and laundry and there

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would be access to community case management so you know all of the different agencies would be able to come in there would be volunteers it had this really open access and yet the my homeless Alliance stepped up and said it isn’t housing first and we said exactly it’s not meant to be housing first housing first is this it’s again it’s a silo it’s meant to feed people into housing first away almost Alliance had a vote how did they come upon we don’t support that well we you have to go through part

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of the processes that you have to have public there’s testimony and that was that was there yeah and and that was actually I believe also from the Department of Human Services were not in support either well I’m hearing that but what are they doing well so they’re do and I can’t die I don’t want to over speak or under speaker miss V so I just know that they’re doing housing first and housing first is an important part of the the picture but it’s not the entire thing I agree I totally agree it’s not

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enough so why if it resists I don’t understand the resistance how is that threatening them it’s not I like I said I can’t speak for them and I can’t and I don’t want to miss churning the waters a little bit here because I’m looking for our public to say yeah I would like the public those guys to take that little baby step that we’re talking about which is get involved I mean issues like that I mean so is that dead is it something that could be yeah so here’s the thing the inter age

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of the u.s. interagency Council on homelessness really encourages the public to attend their COC which is their continuum of care and ours is the my homeless Alliance or the bridging that get I call them bridging the gap and that’s the every third Wednesday of the month at noon if Meo building if people can attend it was uncomfortable to me because I felt like it wasn’t really real it didn’t get down to issues it was so bureaucratic in its structure right it’s mostly agency amount to be

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there or they they couldn’t get their funding so there was like I didn’t really feel like it had too much teeth right so they’ve I believe they have started some committees I had to had started some committees when I was there I haven’t been attending because I actually volunteer in Maui Correctional Facility now and it actually conflicts with those times so I’m not able to go to the homeless Alliance yeah in a women’s mentoring program for the inmates and wow it’s fantastic that’s a

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whole other story I mean I I’ve seen a couple of good you’ve seen boys two men go in I don’t know what your group is called whoo ha ha I know there are a lot of people maybe they should be talking do you see what they you know this other group has really been very helpful mentoring boys that don’t have father or feel like they need the fun yeah it’s a beautiful work is being done there by a lot of volunteers oh so I see but I to me that was an inter-agency evening and a homeless Alliance that’s a government

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and that’s all in my mind and I am heavily laden in workers worked but where’s the money being spent when something like you’re talking about once built has very looked relatively low maintenance has tremendous number can show a numbers count on really hyping people and making them like you say I want to say pre ready or get ready for a job get ready to look for something so that these things so why would a homeless Alliance a housing first I really it’s nice to have housing first

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right stuck in we have other needs well I think it needs to be challenged I think that that attitude needs to be to be challenged I have I’ve challenged it quite a bit I hope it’s a nice way I don’t you know I’m not I’m willing to you know someone couldn’t please offer me into dialogue well you just told me I my languaging is not real warm and fuzzy I know I didn’t say it wasn’t it warm and fuzzy I just wanted to actually kind of filter it a little more into really what you

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were meaning sometimes we say broad statement you know and myself included what I really am always thinking is that we can shine and show a great example that others can put into their community like like you said like people should be doing their own research from here to take ideas that implemented in other places and do them here I’m sure that that idea that you had that was poo pooed by the Alliance and it turned down this is being implemented in all kinds of places around the world yeah it’s not it’s not

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a new footprint whatsoever these people that are dinosaurs and you know it’s nice to say housing first if you have the ability to provide it but if you have to provide other things why would you say no to something that is well it also I’m really curious and I haven’t sought it out but I’d like to know what the current yeah what our statistics are and that that’s something I’m going to need to kind of dive into or anybody who wants to is find out what our current I saw an article in the paper from an

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individual and the homeless Alliance saying but we have enough housing for everyone who’s homeless so it would be it’s really important to say where that is and to cite the information and what you know the report of you know that’s a very large statement and so it would be really helpful certainly as someone as a reader to know where that is what does that mean does that mean that we don’t have any more urgency or you know because I think I don’t it’s I don’t know believe that in being a homeless

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Alliance and drive these streets well any day I don’t well you don’t want to confuse that with people that are resistant they call them resistant I think III giggle at people who are resistant and I think as a provider it just means that I’m not doing a very good job if people are resistant it means I need to find a different way to access the person inside so everyone you know you hear comments constantly oh you know there’s all those people that don’t want you know they don’t want it they

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don’t want it I have to tell you can I tell you how many people I’ve spoken to when I first talked and like you know I’m happy out here and you sit with them you go back next couple of days or you talk a little more and you go ham I’m actually I’m actually going to try and put a place together and I love what what should it have and then you start designing it with them and before you know it they would live there in a heartbeat because they have been included in the vision they have bent they have

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been seen they have been heard they believed now they have trust and you so when you walk up to the same do you want housing you don’t actually want to I don’t even know you don’t want to talk to you of course they’re gonna say no I’m fine now you think those people are gonna come up to the how the Maui homeless Alliance and feel that it’s productive or that the group well think so of course not because that’s a group that’s also experiencing trauma and they’re also experiencing wanting to

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reach out to to get involved I want to say to get involved with the homeless Alliance to soften their position but maybe you know again I’m not I’m not I’m not here to criticize them whatsoever no no no I’m gonna I’m gonna ask you not to because what we I think what we need to do is community members is start with ourselves and we need to say what what is what is an acceptable level for someone to be living at no matter who you are or what your problems are well how does that isn’t that shifting it

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these governments all these agencies when we have services that are free housing before you can even think about housing you gotta get clean and watch your laundry how nice they be considered a group we fund that are running these programs I have a lot of upset at that yeah I see people that are suffering though and so do you yeah but your gentle approach I guess you’d say uh you get a lot of more bees with honey yeah but it’s really rude out there now I know you know well yeah but that doesn’t

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mean you have to be rude or I have to be rude no but that doesn’t mean just bring your honey with you honey well when we go to the Maui homeless Alliance I thought I was rather quiet and diplomat friend what I was trying to do there but I didn’t feel there’s any reception well and this is my point is they’re doing what they’re doing they’re there they’re a canoe that’s paddling in one direction this is why I say let them paddle in their direction that’s fine what we as a

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community members have to do is maybe they have to learn to trust us and so maybe we have to take bigger steps or even quieter steps or more organized steps together you need some more alliance group would trust that back to your shower thing and here’s an example I had a friend who was having surgery a couple of years ago and she knew she was gonna be like bedridden for like a month and she’s like God who’s gonna help me she immediately tried to think she was trying to get someone to help her but

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she’s a smart woman and then what she did is she created a calendar and she sent it out to all of her friends and she said can everyone just pick a day so that you know help me come over help me get a shower or help me make some food and we all just signed up and when when she provided that organizational tool of the calendar it became manageable for all of us and especially her you know it wasn’t about getting somebody to commit for a month of their life I mean that’s really hard to do it’s the same concept

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for me with the shower you can say listen I have a shower on on a Monday or you know every second Monday and maybe I can find another friend or another person in my neighborhood or someone who could provide it on the Wednesday or you know and and and what we have to do is we have to start asking each other more to help have you been getting traction with that yeah okay I mean that’s just like I told her that guy that came over and now what about these other days and he got angry with me you know because I

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wasn’t providing services right individual stories and individual clever people that can do it but there’s so much more need I know what I’m not saying I’m graded it I really I I don’t mind taking a shot here if you will at some of these state groups or groups that would block additional services being provided in our community to help people with that incredibly difficult step just like you said a place to shower or leave your stuff try to get your wits together how could a group be in opposition well I

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don’t know I always I always I love the attitude is give me a chance to fail give me give me a chance to fail because in that in that is an opportunity to succeed is it that we needed them to get an approval because of the land there no no I don’t I want you get hung up on that because I want you to hear the point of we as individuals and community members and what we do and not to say that agencies don’t need oversight sometimes feel like we are so good and you’re very good at it making it sound

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sweeter it isn’t sweet it can be it can be well I am really not seeing it in the people that I am seeing interface with these agencies and they all have special individual needs and all that kind of stuff but it’s just I don’t really feel good about these agencies and you know I like naming them well I hear your frustration I think I like naming them because people in the puppet public think that these agencies are doing the job and they don’t have to be involved themselves to help and I want people to

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help and so if you know these agencies aren’t helping areas yeah you yourself say look hey I provide a shower once in a while to someone like it that’s what I want Jason my point also and I don’t want it to get lost is every agency can’t be everything to everybody and we have got to recognize that every agency can’t be everything to everybody and we can’t hold that standard for every single agency no but I picking on agencies because these are people that get paid every day go home

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to their places every day see the problem some of the workers are so frustrated because they don’t have more resources right well let’s talk about the solutions while we can and I mean their frustrations are real right system like we said well there’s no more DVR group there’s no more this because somewhere in someone’s budgeting process wasn’t important enough of those and that’s why I’m bringing it up these agencies whatever is left is now their hands are tied and they can’t even do

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the job that they might have wanted to do that’s what I’m that’s why I’m bringing it up I know I wrote a crisis article over ten years ago so I’m well aware of it and now bringing it up really thank these guys to hear you had to realize what I said which is the participation thing because people point and point to agencies and say how could that I lost a few friends over it because they were so insistent that these agencies were helping and how dare I think that they and know they’re not

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providing all the needs that they need and the public needs the I think they need to do that yeah they do something but we need some data it would be nice to things more data to me really your your attitude and your approach is great I am just saying that I think more people would be involved that they realized really realized that the agencies really aren’t they’re overwhelmed and they don’t have the money and things are getting cut off and but we at the private sector we can pick up that difference incident we have to

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pick up the difference yesterday’s of funeral in Ferguson ceremony yesterday for cake I Mina was such an incredible wealth of people coming out and supporting this family and their whole Ohana was absolutely a beautiful thing and the love you see there just is unbelievable well in that sweet names in that group right that attitude of helping each other right that’s what I’m saying and the agencies didn’t do that it was all the people as a private well I you know before we say the agencies it’s

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important to understand how the agency starts you know you really need to look at the history of an agency before you just you know we decide whether we’re gonna you know yea or nay them in this moment so well we have a minute and a half can you believe it I’m so I apologize if you think I bashed them a little too much well I’m yeah I would like to say I would like more the message I bring today is to really III think it’s important to go hard on issues and to look at and to be truthful

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and to be fair sometimes that is tough but we can choose the language and the the manner by which we approach these because they’re very emotional and they have a lot of intensity for a lot of people and so yes I would also just always encourage that that deep breath remember we’re all sharing the same breath we are sharing breath here with Lisa Darcy from Share Your Mana Foundation nonprofit and we’re out of time I am always amazed because I could keep talking and I know you could these are

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subjects that if you want to get in touch with Lisa you have a way to get in touch with you easy well you can just you know share your mana org there you go so please do check in and realize that she is incredible resource and probably can show you ways that you can be able to help or be helped and this is really important important work that you do thank you for coming back again and checking in here with me very much appreciate it I always always always am grateful for dialogue with you thank you

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well thank all you guys for joining us we’re gonna leave you once again next week we have Melinda Gohn we’re gonna have the peace poem and talking about kids and peace and want Luther King and the following week is al Perez from Maui tomorrow so check on in and check on back thank you Lisa thank you all for joining us [Music]