Homeless Evicted In Sweep Say They'll Be Back

Diane S.W. Lee/Civil Beat

A man named Catfish was told by state sheriffs Thursday morning he had five minutes to move from his hangout near the intersection of Nimitz Highway and River Street.

"They told us we have to go," said Catfish, waiving a hand in the direction of another homeless man nearby. "They are squeezing us out. It's not right."

The Nimitz-River Street area was one of 17 sites targeted this week by the state departments of Transportation and Public Safety for security purposes and aesthetic reasons. A DOT spokesman said the last site would be visited Friday, but that sheriffs would not be in tow.

If necessary, another sweep could be made before the APEC summit, which runs Nov. 8-13. While DOT conducts routine structural inspections and cleanup every six months, Dan Meisenzahl stressed that DOT was conducting the current work at the behest of the APEC Host Committee in consultation with the U.S. Secret Service.

The sweep, which began Monday, involves removal of homeless belongings by DOT; the sheriffs are there to make sure things proceed smoothly.

Where, exactly, the homeless would go was not the departments' kuleana.

But, based on interviews with Catfish and several other evicted homeless, they won't go far.

"Wherever I want to go, wherever I can go," said Catfish, who spoke to Civil Beat near Kekaulike Street, just a block from where he had been living. His belongings spilled over several shopping carts; a small dog was tied to one cart, as was a kitten, playing with its tether.

"I'm not going to the shelter," Catfish continued. "They have stringent rules and regulations that I'm trying to wean myself off of."

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