By COLIN M. STEWART
Tribune-Herald staff writer
For most of Hawaii Island Home for Recovery’s residents, the old building at 440 Kapiolani St. was a last resort.
Battling mental illness, and drug and alcohol addiction, with many unable to hold down a job, they call the cramped, aging quarters within the three-story building’s walls home. It’s either that, or sleeping on the streets.
Lisa McLemore sat in front of the building enjoying a bit of sunshine on Tuesday. She said she had been living at the Home for Recovery for going on two months, after she wasn’t able to stay with family anymore.
“I moved here from Dallas, Texas,” she said. “I came to visit my aunt, but I couldn’t stay there, because of the animals. I kept getting pneumonia. I’ve been in and out of the hospital four times.”
As case manager Hamlet Baboumi describes the challenges facing the residents at the recovery home, one is struck by his unwillingness to mince words. He doesn’t have time to tiptoe around the uncomfortable truths: He and Executive Director Rita Palma are too busy trying to hold the whole place together with nothing but a shoestring budget and a few dedicated volunteers.
“The only problems we can address are the immediate ones,” he said Tuesday as he led a tour of the facility.
The linoleum floors — which date back to the building’s construction in 1942 — are scarred and covered in glue from the “absolutely disgusting carpet” that was torn up when the Home for Recovery’s programs moved into the structure about two years ago.
Baseboards below residents’ beds need to be removed, as they’ve become nothing but a handy hiding spot for bugs and germs, he said.
The building’s 32 residents share a kitchen, which is actually a rather nice, large space, but is outfitted with only a single electric range, minus a burner, which is malfunctioning. There’s also a propane stove, but residents aren’t allowed to use it for safety reasons.
“About 70 percent of our residents are schizophrenic,” Baboumi explained. “… They may hear voices, telling them to do things … including burning things down. It’s a delusion where they cannot differentiate between reality and what’s going on in their head.”
Meanwhile, the administrators have been hoping an issue with the pipes will work itself out, as they may, or may not, be clogged.
“They’re not sure if we’re on septic, or if there’s a clog in the pipes, but the only way to find out is to dig, and that costs money. Money we don’t have,” Baboumi said.
They save money wherever they can. A resident volunteers to collect the facility’s trash and deliver it to the dump once a week, providing a savings of $128 a month.
Meanwhile, facility administrators have applied for various grants and other forms of help over the years, but even those options are fraught with difficulty. Take, for instance, the grant the facility got recently to buy 25 security cameras.
“We really need those cameras, for safety,” Baboumi said. “But they’ve been sitting in a closet for a year, because, while we got enough money to buy the cameras, we don’t have the money to do the wiring. … We need to wire them, and pay for a server to run the system. But we just don’t have it.”
Residents are asked to pay $375 a month to be a part of one of the facility’s two programs — one a longer-term permanent housing program, the other a temporary, transitional program designed to help residents get on their feet and rebuild their lives after hospitalizations for mental illness and other obstacles. It may not sound like a lot of money, but considering that many of the residents have no form of income other than $300 and $800 a month in social security benefits, it can be a huge expenditure, Baboumi said.
Meanwhile, the state supplies the Home for Recovery with $192,000 a year, and that’s set to diminish next year, with an estimated 18-20 percent budget cut expected, he said.
With the list of “to-dos” mounting and no relief in sight, administrators of the nonprofit have decided to hold a fundraiser next month in the hopes of sprucing the place up a bit.
“It’s important for their psyche to be able to come home to a nice place,” he said. “A lot of people often don’t consider that. They say, ‘These people are homeless. Now they have a roof over their head. What else do they need?’ But they’re all human. We all need things in our life that make us feel a little good about ourselves.”
Ho‘olaule‘a Family Fun Day will run from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at Mo‘oheau Park in Hilo on Aug. 10, offering crafts, gifts, entertainment, a silent auction, pony rides, and food. At the same time, the Home for Recovery grounds at 440 Kapiolani St., will host a garage sale from 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Vendors interested in participating, or donors looking to sponsor food, tents, advertising and other needs, or those looking to donate items for the garage sale, are asked to contact Thresa at (808) 937-1665 or Hamlet at (808) 934-7852. Vendor applications are due on or before July 20.
For more information, email hihr@hawaii.rr.com.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
