‘They needed help’

LIHUE — As the woman approaches, Suzanne Pearson offers a quick smile and greeting.

“Hi. Good morning. What do you need?”

The woman, wearing a hoodie and sweats, responds with her own, “Good morning,” and starts looking through a plastic sack filled with clothes. She discards several items, then stops on some pants, picks them up and gives them a once-over.

“This looks good,” she says.

The pants are set off to start a separate pile, and the woman who says her name is Tommye continues glancing through the offerings brought to Pua Loke Park by Pearson.

She finds a shirt and pants that meet her approval, and explains that some of her belongings were ruined in the recent rains.

“Oh, I like those sweats,” Tommye says.

“They’re perfect for you,” Pearson says. “Do you need a sweater?”

The woman shakes her head, no, but another homeless person who goes by Gwenn like the sweater and tries it on.

She grins and postures for a photographer. But she is picky about her outfits. She frowns, sets the sweater back down and rummages through more items, none of which she seems to particularly like. But a red velvet coat catches her eye and she tries it on. This she’ll keep.

“I appreciate her,” she says when asked for her thoughts about Pearson. “This is wonderful.”

Pearson, of Koloa, has been coming to Pua Loke Park each Wednesday morning, rain or shine, to distribute free stuff to the homeless. Shirts, pants, coats, socks, towels, sheets and hygiene items are among the items she gives away from her older white sedan.

“People need help,” she says.

So she pulls up and parks. She doesn’t walk out to check on the people in the many tents at the park, as she doesn’t want to disturb them. Rather, she waits.

Many of the homeless have clothes hanging from trees and spread out on the lawn, drying. Pearson seems to know many by first name, and knows who lives in which tent.

And soon, they come. They walk over to see what Pearson has for them today.

It’s part of her “Love in Action” ministry she started in December 2017. Since, she has distributed nearly 1,300 pieces, as she refers to them, all meant to help the homeless get by during the colder, wetter, windier winter months on Kauai.

A woman named Jill accepts a towel and sheet, and says both will come in handy.

“It’s nice, what she does,” Jill says of Pearson.

Pearson tries to get her to take more.

“Here is a blouse,” she says, but Jill declines.

“I don’t need it,” she said.

Pearson shrugs.

“Give me a hug. We’ll see you next week,” she said.

Pearson collects donations from the congregation at the church she attends, Koloa Union Church. She says her church ohana is generous toward the program, and she is joined in the giveaway that morning by two friends who decline to give their names.

“They’re my helpers, but they’re shy,” Pearson says.

Her Love in Action ministry is based on a simple saying: “One kind act is a chain reaction of compassion.”

“That’s what I say,” Pearson says.

It began by accident.

“I just saw them out here one time when I made a wrong turn and ended up down here,” she said. “I looked over and there were like nine people at the picnic table and some people were sleeping. Others were just sitting there, with nothing. I knew they needed help.”

She didn’t forget.

Soon, Pearson returned with blankets and pillows. Then, she started bringing towels and sheets. And then, clothes. Then, toothpaste, toothbrushes, hair brushes and shampoo. Shoes, too.

It was whatever she could collect, whatever friends would contribute, whatever her church pitched in, which turned out to be a lot.

“That’s how it got started,” Pearson said.

She estimates she has helped hundreds of people. Most are at parks. Sometimes, she’ll drive away to find the homeless, even asking around about where they are.

Some are suspicious of her motives and eye her with doubt. Others accept help without reservation.

But her philanthropy toward the homeless hasn’t endeared her to everyone.

For several Wednesdays, Pearson ventured behind the Haleko Shops Complex, where a small homeless encampment has been established in a wooded area.

When she arrived to offer free goods to those at the camp, a few people who work at the complex of professional businesses asked her to stop. When she refused, they filmed her with cellphones and said they would report her to police.

Two who work there spoke to TGI but declined to give their names for fear of reprisal. While they said they have empathy for the homeless, having them live behind their businesses creates problems. Vandalism, theft, litter, noise and threats are not uncommon, they said.

From June 24, 2017, to Feb. 15, 2019, nearly 40 incidents at Haleko Shops Complex were reported to police. These incidents ranged from harassment to disorderly conduct, burglary, trespassing, property damage, suspicious persons, drug offenses and welfare checks.

“You name it. It’s been ongoing, and it’s getting worse,” one man said.

One person said that Pearson is encouraging the homeless to stay there by her donations, and it puts them in a tough spot.

“It’s not that we’re against homeless, but this is creating a dangerous situation,” one man said, adding many don’t feel safe coming to their offices there at night when many homeless men and women are hanging around their front doors.

“It just gets a little scary,” he said.

Pearson, adamant at first to continue despite opposition, tossed bags of items over the fence when none of the homeless at the encampment responded to her calls asking if they needed anything. Later, she said she would stop going to the encampment to avoid further confrontations and agreed there were homeless elsewhere to help where they weren’t living next to businesses.

She said her heart to help others developed when she was raised in Canada.

“We would take our toys into The Salvation Army and have them all cleaned and donated them,” she said. “Our parents taught us that.”

In the 43 years she’s called Kauai home, Pearson has volunteered at the food bank for about six of them. She likes to do what she can and believes her “Love in Action” ministry is her calling.

“They know we’re coming and they’re grateful for everything,” she said.

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Bill Buley, editor-in-chief, can be reached at 245-0457 or bbuley@thegardenisland.com.