• Security of neighborhood should be paramount Security of neighborhood should be paramount By JOANN HARUNAGA My letter is in response to a Guest viewpoint article Drug treatment program is opportunity for isle to help by Tom McCall. The Hanamana
• Security of neighborhood should be paramount
Security of neighborhood should be paramount
By JOANN HARUNAGA
My letter is in response to a Guest viewpoint article Drug treatment program is opportunity for isle to help by Tom McCall.
The Hanamana Drug and alcohol treatment facility before the Planning Commission is not a slam-dunk proposal as expressed by Tom McCall in your Tuesday, December 2, 2003 Guest viewpoint article.
Mr. Tom McCall’s question, “So what is the problem?” ought to be “What are the problems in converting the Wong’s Care Home into a drug and alcohol treatment facility?”
First, when the Wong’s Care Home started its operation twenty-five years ago at the end of Kawaihau Road, there were very few homes in this area. It was considered the “boonies”. Now, those homeowners have aged and the neighborhood has also grown. Many new homes are within walking distance of the proposed drug and alcohol facility. Even a school bus stop across from the proposed drug and alcohol facility was established to accommodate the growing community.
Second, you stated, “They have an experienced licensed clinical director on board that can design a program that would be unique to the needs of Kaua’i’s families”. Is Tali McCall the program director with a master’s degree mentioned in Tom Finnegan’s article Drug Rehab to go before the planners in the Wednesday, November 19, 2003 issue of The Garden Island the same person?
I too, Mr. McCall, have an interest in whether the planning commission approves the use permit for Hanamana. My elderly mother still lives in the house I grew up in which is about two hundred yards from the proposed drug and alcohol facility. Paramount is the security of her neighborhood.
1. What will be the ratio of trained security personnel to drug and alcohol clients?
2. How many trained security personnel will be on the premises twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week?
3. Will the short three feet fence be replaced with an eight feet or higher fencing around the perimeter of the property?
4. Will the facility be locked daily?
5. What is the security procedure if a client leaves the premises without permission? When will the neighborhood be notified of a breach of security?
6. What will be the ratio of certified (by the State of Hawaii) drug counselors to drug and alcohol clients?
7. Who is the medical doctor that will be available in case of medical emergencies?
You also wrote, “The last place a using addict wants to be near is a place where people are anti-drug use. A center of this type would be the first to spot suspicious behavior and report it to the police. There is a 50/50 chance it will happen at the Wong care home site, because the facility is there and the need is urgent. I am sure the people who will operate this site will be sensitive to the neighbors and will want to do everything in their power to alleviate their fears and will do all they can to minimize the changes. But it is still going to be in their back yard. If these residents have to shoulder the change in their neighborhood and deal with their fears, what can the rest of Kaua’i do to support them?”
Mr. McCall, why should the neighborhood live in fear every single day? The Planning Commission must deny a USE PERMIT for the Hanamana Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center until all security issues are resolved.
This is not a slam-dunk proposal.
J. Harunaga is a resident of Wailua Homesteads.
