Back To Top
한국어판

아열대 낙원 하와이 '노숙자 천국' 돌변

'지상낙원'으로 불릴 만큼 아름다운 해변과  풍 광을 자랑하는 태평양의 섬 미국 하와이가 노숙자 급증으로 골머리를 앓고 있다.

AP통신은 8일(현지시간) 하와이가 인구 10만명 당 노숙자 487명으로 미국 50개 주 중 가장 높은 비율을 기록했다고 보도했다.

경기가 회복세로 접어들어 미국 전체 노숙자 비율이 감소한 2010년 이후에도 하 와이의 노숙자 비율은 꾸준히 증가했다고 한다.

하와이의 노숙자 증가는 높은 물가, 낮은 임금, 제한된 토지 등이 원인으로  꼽 힌다.

늘어나는 노숙자와 달리 수용 시설은 턱없이 부족하다.

약 4천900명의 노숙자가 있는 오아후 섬은 노숙자를 550명만 수용할 수 있다.

주 정부가 운영하는 공공주택 입주는 노숙자들의 희망이지만 5년 넘게 입주를 기다린 인원만 1만명 이상인 것으로 나타났다.

2020년까지 공공주택 2만7천채가 필요하다는 통계가 있지만 하와이 주 의회가 책정한 올해 예산으로는 800채 정도를 감당할 수 있다.

그러나 현재 수준의 공공주택을 유지하는 데에도 앞으로 10년 동안 연간 8천만 달러(약 922억원)가 필요한 것으로 추산된다.

노숙자 숫자 증가는 하와이의 새로운 사회 갈등으로 이어지고 있다.

통계로는 하와이 노숙자의 30%는 하와이 출신, 27%는 미크로네시아나 마셜 군 도 등에서 온 이주민, 26%는 백인인 것으로 나타났다.

다른 섬에서 온 이주민들은 자신들이 언어 장벽과 인종 차별에 시달린다고 주장 한다.

하와이 출신들은 다른 섬에서 온 사람들 때문에 자원이 부족해졌다고 여긴다.

노숙자들은 한때 와이키키 해변으로 몰려들어 백사장 바깥 인도에 자리를  잡으 려 했지만, 대형 호텔과 리조트들이 나서면서 와이키키 해변의 인도에 앉거나 눕는 것이 아예 법으로 금지됐다.

그러자 노숙자들은 주택가로 스며들어 야영하기 시작했는데 이는 또 다른  갈등 을 낳았다.

하와이 주의 주도인 호놀룰루 시의 경우 노숙자 불법 야영지를 치우는 데 주당 1만5천 달러(약 1천729만원)를 쓴다.

돈은 돈대로 쓰지만 이 과정에서 개인 물품을 잃어버리곤 하는 노숙자들의 반발 도 크다.

하와이 소식을 전하는 '하와이뉴스나우'는 지난 4일 노숙자들이 빈부에  상관없 이 법적으로 동등한 대우를 받아야 한다며 시민단체의 도움을 얻어 호놀룰루 시를 고소하는 등 법적 다툼으로도 번졌다고 보도했다. (연합)


<관련 영문 기사>

Homelessness in Hawaii grows, defying image of paradise

Two days before the city planned to dismantle her sidewalk home, Kionina Kaneso had no idea where she and her daughter and grandchildren would sleep.

A full-time fast-food worker, Kaneso had bad experiences at shelters before and was hesitant to live in another, ending up instead in one of the nation’s largest homeless encampments. Desperate, she decided to try one again.

But there was no more space for families.

“Where can I go?” Kaneso asked.

Homelessness in Hawaii has grown in recent years, leaving the state with 487 homeless per 100,000 people, the nation’s highest rate per capita, above New York and Nevada, according to federal statistics. Since 2010, the rise has come even as the national rate has fallen during the economic recovery.

The increase, driven by years of rising costs in the island chain, low wages and limited land, thrust the image of people sleeping on beaches alongside the state’s famed one of a relaxing tropical paradise.

Officials have tried to solve the problem. They’ve offered homeless services, banned sitting and lying on Waikiki’s sidewalks and proposed using shipping containers as temporary housing. Gov. David Ige’s declaration of a state of emergency on homelessness in October underscored the depth of the crisis:

_ While there are shelters and programs to help the homeless, there are far fewer empty beds than are needed _ about 550 on any given night on Oahu, where an estimated 4,900 of the 7,620 homeless people live, according to service providers.

_ The state needs 27,000 affordable rental units by 2020, but lawmakers set aside enough money for 800 units this year. Maintaining the existing public housing could cost $800 million over the next decade, according to state estimates.

_ Statewide, 10,000 people wait five years or more to get into state-run public housing, and the waiting list for Section 8 rent assistance in private housing was so long, they closed the list for about a decade.

_ The state’s population of unsheltered families ballooned 46 percent from 2014 to 2015, said Scott Morishige, state coordinator on homelessness. He said changes in public housing policy and mental health services contributed to the rise. A survey by service providers in August of Kaneso’s encampment found that 42 percent of the nearly 300 people were families.

Kaneso is among the many Micronesians who moved to Hawaii in recent years as part of an agreement their nations have with the U.S. government allowing them to work and live in the country. They come for medical care, education and job opportunities.

Kaneso arrived in 2004 and worked odd jobs as a dishwasher and assembly line worker to pay for her son’s flight to Hawaii so he could get medical treatment for a heart condition.

While the state doesn’t have a break down by race of the overall homeless population, data on homeless shelter use show that 30 percent were Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian, 27 percent Micronesian, Marshallese or other Pacific Islanders, and 26 percent white.

Micronesians say they face language barriers and discrimination. For Native Hawaiians, some of whom see the U.S. government as an occupier since a group of mainlanders overthrew the queen and took over their land, the influx of other Pacific Islanders using services adds insult to injury.

“We should be helped first, because we really are suffering,” said Deja-Lynn Rombawa-Quarles, a Native Hawaiian and camp resident.

The city tried to create a temporary safe zone in 2006 where the homeless could camp legally, but complaints ensued, so it ended up closing the park every night. Many of the homeless moved into hotel garages and walkways near Waikiki Beach.

Then the city banned sitting and lying down on sidewalks, a move backed by the Hyatt Regency, Hilton Worldwide and other major resorts, which generate much of Waikiki’s $6.8 billion in annual tourism revenue, nearly half of all visitor spending in Hawaii.

The hotels saw fewer homeless people, who then moved into other neighborhoods, prompting more complaints.

“People cannot camp and take over parts of our city and state property that has been built and designed for everyone, not one specific group,” said Mayor Kirk Caldwell, after a group meeting on homelessness in September. “It’s not safe.”

Honolulu spends $15,000 a week to sweep away the camps. During the sweeps, families lost possessions like the wood they use to build their structures, found furniture and clothes. Some have filed a lawsuit against the raids.

Service providers say 40 percent of Hawaii’s homeless people are working at least part-time, 30 percent need some housing assistance and 30 percent have mental health or substance abuse problems that prevent them from maintaining a home.

Kaneso’s job at a McDonald’s nets her $8.75 an hour, but it doesn’t come close to what she needs to pay rent in a market where a two-bedroom apartment goes for $1,800 a month.

Honolulu officials have set aside at least $16.8 million for services and to secure apartments for homeless people in 2015, including plans to develop units out of shipping containers to temporarily house transients on Sand Island and the Waianae Coast.

City officials also are backing at least $32 million in bonds to finance other housing for homeless people.

Kaneso, who lived with a sister in public housing but left because she didn’t to get her in trouble, has been on a waiting list for Section 8 assistance since 2006, and found out she made it to the top 250 last year.

In September, after violent incidents raised the profile of Kaneso’s encampment, city and state officials began gradually clearing tents again; this time giving plenty of warning, hoping people would voluntarily leave.

Kaneso had left a shelter for the streets after workers during one stay threw away her belongings.

On the morning of the sweep, after hours of uncertainty, Kaneso and her family got into a shelter, but she didn’t want to stay long. She’s one of thousands of people on the public housing waiting list.

“What is the use for us, to keep telling us to wait this long?” Kaneso said. (AP)

MOST POPULAR
LATEST NEWS
subscribe
피터빈트