State adamant on
site for mentally ill
The program will be
By Helen Altonn
discussed with opposing HPU
officials and others
Star-BulletinState health officials are willing to discuss with concerned parties a program planned for the mentally ill in the Blaisdell Hotel -- but the site itself is not negotiable.
That message will be delivered tonight to the Downtown Neighborhood Board by state Health Director Larry Miike.
"We would be happy to talk about the program, hours and concerns," he said. "We will not be talking about withdrawing the lease downtown."
Hawaii Pacific University has objected to placing the Clubhouse program in the middle of its urban campus.
But Miike pointed out that Hawaii's civil rights laws prohibit discrimination against the disabled, including those who are mentally disabled.
"It is no right of anybody to say they don't belong there (at Fort Street Mall) because they're engaging in criminal behavior or they're a danger to the neighborhood," he said.
Miike said he planned to send a letter to the neighborhood board via Linda Fox, chief of the Adult Mental Health Division, when it meets at 7 p.m. at the Pauahi Recreation Center.
At its previous meeting, on Aug. 13, the board asked the Health Department to form a task force with HPU and business representatives to discuss the Clubhouse project.
Jim Hochberg, HPU's senior vice president who was leading opposition to the program's location, recently retired.
Helen Varner, vice president of university relations, said HPU has not changed its position, which has the full backing of its board.
"The Clubhouse -- it's a wonderful program," Varner said. "We will continue to support programs like that. But it's a terrible location. We are willing to help the state find another location."
Miike said the Blaisdell Hotel is a good location for the program, intended to train high-functioning, stable mentally ill people for jobs. "It is centrally located on a bus line and available to all businesses."
Moreover, under state civil rights statutes protecting the disabled, "you cannot discriminate against such people, to deny them state-funded activities," he said.
"And in real estate transactions, it is illegal to allege that any of these classes of people engage in criminal behavior or would change the character of the neighborhood they're moving into," Miike said."And it's illegal to coerce someone to engage in that, which HPU has been trying to do to the leasing company (Gerrell Management Co.)"
HPU sought a preliminary injunction against Gerrell to prevent the program from going into the Blaisdell, citing the number of police reports at the state's Clubhouse mental health programs.
Circuit Judge Colleen Hirai denied the injunction but kept the case open for more information.
Varner said HPU board chairman William Aull, now in Australia, received a hand-delivered letter Tuesday from Fox. She said it was the first communication from the health department since the neighborhood board meeting.
She said Fox asked to meet with HPU administrators and board members and said she thought they could be good neighbors.
"It's a very vague attempt to open a channel of communication," Varner said. "We would be delighted to talk with them, so we will contact them.
"We've tried from the beginning of the discussion to have HPU folks help them (relocate). We've tried everything within our power to give them resources. It's been one-sided."
Miike said, however, "Fort Street Mall is not their campus, and let's take a look at people around Fort Street Mall."
Safe Haven was established at the edge of the mall by Mental Help Hawaii as a residential program to provide services to homeless mentally ill.
The Clubhouse is not a residential program, Miike said. It will operate only during weekdays to give screened, stable clients skills and job transition assistance, and then they will go home, he said.
