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“When we built the Clean & Safe program for Wailuku we received so much more than a security service or property management company in return. We literally have a network of coaches who are there to educate, guide, and SUPPORT the Wailuku Town community, lending a helping hand to those that need it most.”
The County’s Clean & Safe Program oversees the public properties within Wailuku and works with property owners to keep their buildings and land safe and secure, while connecting people in crisis with social services and housing programs.
The Clean & Safe Program program was established in 2016 in response to a crisis that had reached a breaking point in Wailuku Town on Maui. There was a growing number of vagrants, the mentally ill, substance abusers and homeless on the streets. Merchants were afraid to walk to their cars after hours, business was down throughout town and residents were calling their Councilmember to complain about safety concerns. Enter retired Police Officer Lawrence Kauha‘aha‘ai, whom Erin Wade at the County of Maui Department of Management convinced to oversee the Clean & Safe program, with the support of his “coaches” and a network of social service providers.
Today, this impactful program plays a key role in ensuring Wailuku’s economic vitality, keeping our community safe, and improving the quality of life for those in need.
“Life running a business in Wailuku (prior to 2016) revolved around daily confrontations with individuals and groups who were camped out on our sidewalks - drinking, leaving trash, human waste and alcohol containers behind. It was a challenge and sometimes a danger to enter or exit storefronts. Those days have passed. The street scene is friendly, the sidewalks are clean and indeed safe, and it has occurred without harm or conflict. Wailuku’s Clean and Safe program has positively transformed our town.”
“Clean and Safe has made Wailuku Town a better place to run a business. I appreciate the back up when dealing with mentally ill and houseless people. I feel safer when I walk to my car after dark. I feel more supported and truly like I’m being looked out for thanks to the clean and safe team.”
Learn more about offenses against property rights, trespass warnings, authorization to the Police, Citizen’s Arrest, and view sample forms.
