KAILUA-KONA — Passionate, inspired and inspiring people came together as a community for the first HONOUR event Thursday at Old Kona Airport Park.
Almost 40 community members, including eight homeless individuals, gathered for a cleanup at the beach park under the tutelage of officers Wyatt Nahale and Reuben Pukahi and the Hawaii Police Department’s Community Policing Division.
The basis of HONOUR (Homeless Outreach Nurturing Our Community) is to integrate the homeless back into the community by having them work on projects under positive guidance.
At the program’s inception — announced earlier this month — Nahale said a lot of homeless individuals need a sense of humanity, so why not have it come from a police officer taking the humanitarian role beside the enforcement role?
He said the program he helped create is based upon the police department and homeless community coming together to restore faith back into the homeless population again. He’s heard from individuals who’ve told him that they are tired of being labeled because of the troublemakers and want to do something good for the community.
So armed with gloves, trash bags and donning bright orange vests, the group started at the north end of the runway and gathered trash along the shoreline.
“I brought some folks down,” said Jenaya Rockman, who heard Nahale speak about the new program at a Rotary meeting, which motivated her to join the effort. “Once they see what it is all about, they will come again.”
Christian Macy was eager to work side-by-side with community members and the police.
“I am a homeless person in this community and on probation,” he said. “I’m taking this opportunity to turn my life around. I want people to see me as someone who can help the community, not be a detriment to it.”
Macy said there was apprehension among some of the homeless about volunteering for a project involving police, but after his experience he will be spreading the word of the project benefits, becoming the program ambassador.
Although the next HONOUR day has not been set, Nahale hopes to organize the events twice a month.
“I appreciate this opportunity and I appreciate the police for putting this together,” said Macy.