2006-08-25 TPLANNING DIR. - Laserfiche WebLink

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a little thin? And, for example, if there had been five instead of eight, would those three girls have been able to get away, would there have been more supervision? L. THURMAN:I think the only way that you can guarantee that they’re not going to have situations like Mr. Carter is if you have one supervisor for each attendant there and they have a leash on them. ALAMEDA:Commissioner Siracusa? SIRACUSA:No thank you. ALAMEDA:Thank you, sir, thank you for your testimony. Thank you for coming out, appreciate it. All right. We have Sarah Ho, Richard Walker and Marilyn McIntosh. Please come forward? Please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Hawai`i County Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS:I do. ALAMEDA:Okay. Thank you. All right, we can start from on my left. Ma’am, could you please state your name and address for the record? HO:Sure. My name is Sarah Ho. I reside at 75-5529 Hahai Street in Holualoa. ALAMEDA:Thank you. Did you provide us with a written testimony? HO:No. I did not. I just came this morning. ALAMEDA:Thank you for coming. You may proceed. HO:If I may just share my perspective. I am a mental health consumer in recovery by bipolar disorder. I have taught recovery courses islandwide and on Maui Island. I co-facilitate two support groups and probably am acquainted with, between 3- and 400 mental health consumers islandwide. So I have a perspective of the spectrum of recovery that is perhaps new to most of the members of the Commission here. Clearly, not all of us in recovery are young children. There is a very serious housing shortage for persons with mental health issues. We, with mental health issues, many of us have made some poor and self-destructive choices in our lives. We are attempting to get out from under those choices and get our lives back. We also, almost to a person, I, in fact, cannot think of any exception to this, we have had in our early childhood adverse experiences that have affected the way we’re able to learn, function, deal with the world. We are looking for a second chance. We are looking to get our lives back; and I see people over and over again who are doing that. The opportunity to live in a home rather than on the streets of Kailua, and I should mention that it is not only the Keauhou home that would be affected by a decision change by this Commission, but there are other housing group home facilities in the Kailua-Kona area which could provide extra beds for people who are currently homeless and in need. A person who’s living on the street EXHIBIT D 15