KAHULUI, Maui — A growing shantytown on the Kahului Harbor breakwater is creating a dilemma for county officials, who have been unable to persuade the homeless population there to seek traditional housing or enter social service programs.

So far, the county has been content to let the 100 or so occupants of blue-tarpaulin shelters, tents and vehicles remain. But Maui's top health official and some members of the public are pushing for the county to clear the homeless out of the breakwater, which also is a recreational spot for boaters, fishers and people seeking respite from the hustle and bustle of Kahului.

The county's homeless coordinator regularly visits the site, offering assistance for those who want to apply for housing and letting them know how to get food, health insurance and other services, said Alice Lee, head of the Department of Housing and Human Concerns.

"Our efforts target those who really want housing, people who are down on their luck temporarily," Lee said. "But we've run across a number of cases where they've declined because they don't want to live by other people's rules. Many are substance abusers, have alcohol problems or mental disorders, or feel they have a right to the 'aina.

"We can't force them to apply for housing. We monitor the situation, we continue to send our representatives, we make sure children are not at risk or in danger, and we continue to persuade them to apply for housing.

"If we learn that whatever is happening there presents a danger to public health and safety, then we will be forced to go in and disperse them."

Dr. Lorrin Pang, Maui District health officer with the state Department of Health, said waiting until a public health problem arises before taking action is "playing with fire." He recalled an outbreak of bacterial meningitis among Kihei's homeless population about two years ago.

"It's a time bomb. ... They might as well close it now," Pang said. "Why wait until there's a problem?"

'THE WAY WE LIVE'

The harbor breakwater is mostly barren and exposed, with little vegetation except for ironwood trees. There is running water and three portable toilets at the Kahului Boat Ramp, about 150 yards from the encampment.

Lee said the county is hesitant to provide additional services because it might encourage more people to take up residence.

Unlike at beach parks and undeveloped areas on the island where the homeless have established large camps, the harbor breakwater is in a highly visible location off Kahului Beach Road, one of Central Maui's busiest streets. Many of the people who live there have been acquainted for years as they moved from one campsite to another.

Some have jobs, while others depend on government assistance and handouts from churches and individuals who drop off food and clothing.

Despite the efforts of government and community agencies that help the homeless, most are not interested in entering organized shelters or applying for low-income housing. Those who spoke with The Advertiser did not want to be identified to protect their privacy or to avoid becoming known to authorities.

"This is the way we want to live," one woman said. "We watch out for each other.

"The people who live here are not homeless; they are houseless. Some people just want to live the way they were raised by their families, in the outdoors. You get used to the life."

A 25-year-old man from O'ahu said he came to Maui to find work and was employed at a warehouse until he got hurt. He said the Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center in Wailuku has "too many rules" for his taste, and that he's been living at the breakwater for about a year. "We don't like to be a burden on our families," he said.

KEEPING IT TIDY

Others staying at the breakwater prefer to set up quarters apart from the main group.

Abraham and Robin, a couple in their late 40s, have a neatly kept shelter farther out toward the harbor mouth that features barbecue grills, recliners and chicken-wire recycling bins. Abraham has taken on the responsibility of making sure the other residents keep the area clean.

Robin is a former school custodian and her husband works as a house framer. They have a home in Wailuku that is occupied by family members, but have been at the breakwater for three years. Robin said the couple simply prefer the peace and solitude. "I love it here," she said. "It relieves the stress."

"We always take care; nobody bothers us," Abraham said.

Maude Cumming of the Family Life Center in Kahului works regularly with Maui's homeless. The nonprofit center, started by First Assembly of God, provides food, clothing, housing placement and other services, but has had few successes at the breakwater community, Cumming said.

"We've been going out there and trying to find out who they are, why they are there and what's keeping them there," she said.

"A lot of them already have been to the shelter, and either have not been able to handle the rules or the chores and can't go back, or have had bad experiences accessing services, whether not being able to fill out the application or just getting what they see as a negative response, so they just shut down and don't want to go any further ... It's not really that they don't want help. But they have a whole lifetime of experiences that make them feel like people can't be trusted or that their situation is not resolvable."

SHELTERS, PROGRAMS

Looking past the stubborn yet resilient homeless population at the breakwater, Maui perhaps has the state's most progressive system for addressing homelessness. The county helped fund two major shelters and transitional housing centers that provide job training, healthcare, childcare and other programs, and there are plans for additional facilities.

The Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center is sheltering 262 people, including 105 children, and the adjacent Hale Makana O Wai'ale provides subsidized rentals to 650 others who are working toward self-sufficiency.

In Lahaina, the Na Hale O Waine'e emergency and affordable housing center has 210 occupants, with more units opening this month.

The county also has a Coordinated Homeless Response Team that meets monthly.

Charles Ridings, executive director of Ka Hale A Ke Ola, said high rents, welfare reform and other issues continue to increase Maui's homeless population.

The county's homeless services coordinator, Mike Davis, has counted 250 to 450 others who are living in the open. A recent government-funded survey by SMS Research placed Maui's homeless population at 1,150.

Davis said that in the past three years he has helped almost 600 homeless people find housing, including seven families who were living at the breakwater. Five others are waiting for rentals in Kahekili Terrace, run by Hawaiian Homes.

CENTRAL LOCATION

Mayor Alan Arakawa said that if this subpopulation of the homeless needs a place to go, the Kahului Harbor breakwater is not a bad location for them, because there are no homes or businesses nearby. The central location also makes it easier for the handful of children living there to attend school, for agencies to provide services, and for police to monitor criminal activity.

"Every community has homeless, and the breakwater is one of the places where we have homeless. There is no designated place for them to go. But it's no more than at 'A'ala Park or Ala Moana Park" in Honolulu, Arakawa said.

The situation at the Kahului Harbor breakwater has attracted the attention of Maui County Councilman Michael Molina, who asked that the matter be discussed at the Committee of the Whole's meeting tomorrow.

"There is definitely a problem regarding crime and sanitation in the area, and knowing that families with children are residing there is of great concern," Molina said in a statement.

He said the homeless deserve to live "with dignity and in a safe and healthy environment," but that the situation is complex because the rights of the homeless must be balanced with the rights of others who use the area.

In the past, the county has evicted large encampments from Kanaha Beach Park in Kahului and other areas after being told by the Department of Health to do so or else provide sanitation facilities. The homeless then moved to other sites.

Pang, with the Department of Health, said he would prefer the county establish a designated area for homeless campers with running water and proper sanitation.

Lee doesn't like that idea.

"We don't want to warehouse people. We prefer to help them become self-reliant and not cluster them together so they can all be homeless together," she said.

"We could designate a site but we would still have homeless dotted all over the coast. It sounds like a good solution, but in reality it's not."

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.