Aloha in Action, Kuleana, An Example ... from O'ahu today

O'ahu (Hawaii) parks and bathrooms, like so many other county and public parks in Washington state and others across the US, are closed in response to The Virus. For so many 'reasonable' reasons, that could make sense. But the reality of life is there are real people, living without a house, who depend upon the toilets and showers. We have been these people, and we know others who are those people now.

I got the following email a few minutes ago, because I'm part of Hui Aloha. Real people(HUI ALOHA) are activating the spirit of Aloha and Kuleana in real time to make essential services available to real people who don't have access. Hui Aloha is a major safety pin, fastened to many, aloha grows! 

The key words here? Activism, Aloha, Borders & thresholds, Community, Home & those without houses, Kuleana. The bold print in the letter below is mine.

"Aloha Friends,
After a final push for petition signatures and media coverage Thursday, the City finally reopened all Oahu’s park bathrooms last Friday. We’re still working to ensure HPD doesn’t cite bathroom users for entering parks, and to get showers back on, but things are moving in the right direction.
We got thank yous from several people, including this one:

“I wanted to let you know that the C&C maintenance workers unlocked one of the three restrooms [in the] Park. I'm grateful for even just one restroom being accessible as I am currently houseless living out of my vehicle along with my 11-year-old son....Thanks for all that you have done and are continuing to do for this issue!”
The bathroom this mother and her son depend upon would not have been reopened without you. Mahalo to the Mayor and the City for heeding our community outcry. Aloha prevailed, and now we have an opportunity to amplify it...
This week, Hui Aloha will launch a "Bathroom Brigades" pilot - mobilizing community support to help keep bathrooms in high-use areas clean, safe, and operating. Houseless “Brigade Captains” in these areas will take kuleana for monitoring and spot-cleaning bathrooms, and Hui Aloha volunteers and donors will keep them stocked with supplies and protective gear. We’re following the example of Puuhonua O Waianae, and rolling out in Waimanalo and Ala Moana by Friday. We want to empower folks to take kuleana and support custodial staff who are on the "front line" at this time.

If all goes well, we’ll expand to additional sites, and provide "toolkits" to encourage outreach agencies and neighborhoods to replicate across the islands. We’ll also need help keeping Captains stocked, so we will be updating and sending calls to action in the weeks ahead. You can read more here.
COVID-19 will tempt all of us to act out of fear at times, but the outbreak will also present opportunities to act with Aloha instead. If we stand together (6 feet apart for now) and nudge each other toward caring and generosity, we can seize this opportunity to build the community of Aloha we've been longing for.

Mahalo,
The Hui Aloha Team"

We could be doing this on this island, too! A virus antidote.