KANE'OHE — A sense of ownership and pride is prodding people to pick up paint brushes and scrapers to remove graffiti from their communities and take back their neighborhoods.

While a group from Hope Chapel Kane'ohe tackles abatement efforts every six weeks, two church members are making graffiti removal a part of their daily ritual, painting it out as soon as they see it, said Rob McWilliams, associate pastor. McWilliams declined to identify the painters, saying they didn't want praise or recognition.

"They are real stealth about it," he said. "They're a couple of painters in the church who see their role in the community is to paint out the graffiti."

Others also are taking charge.

For example, graffiti cleaning is part of the job training program at Goodwill Industries of Hawai'i.

A crew canvases the Waikiki business district every day on behalf of the Waikiki Business Improvement District Association, cleaning the area and removing the blight, said Laura Kay Rand, Goodwill spokeswoman. Some 650 graffiti tags and stickers are removed every month from poles, publication boxes and signs, Rand said.

Motivated by pride and the positive feedback they receive from tourists, the crews are not discouraged by having to repeatedly wipe out the markings and tags, said Brandy Okada, crew supervisor.

"Honestly, my crew enjoys removing these items on a daily basis," Okada said. "They compare it to Easter egg hunting."

Anti-graffiti volunteers come from all walks of life and all ages.

The 'Ewa Adult Day Health Program has six clients who volunteer about once a month to paint over graffiti, said Carroll Buck, program manager for Easter Seals Hawai'i, which operates the adult program for people with developmental disabilities.

The volunteers have been doing it since March and they enjoy the chance to make a difference, Buck said.

"They're really happy because they know they're doing something nice for somebody else and they're making where they live a little bit nicer to look at."

Volunteers in Waipahu do an annual cleanup that includes a graffiti paint-out and each year more and more students are signing up, said Connie Herolaga, community liaison for city Councilman Nestor Garcia. In September, 200 people volunteered for the project and some people were turned away, Herolaga said. But the real satisfaction was student involvement, she said.

"This is what it's all about," Herolaga said. "We're trying to take back our community. We're trying to make our community look nice and the kids are taking responsibility."

The community changed its strategy on the previous paint-out because the multiple colors appearing throughout the community every time someone covers graffiti isn't attractive, she said.

Instead of canvassing the community, volunteers focused on one very long wall on Paiwa Street from Waipahu Street to the freeway entrance and painted the whole thing. Once that was done an individual or group was sought to take care of the wall and quickly paint over any new graffiti, Herolaga said.

Volunteers agree that immediate paint-outs are a proven strategy for controlling the problem but not all communities are organized.

Joel Elies, with Hope 968 in the Mo'ili'ili-University area, said his church members want to be more consistent. They are hoping a community meeting this month will help organize volunteers and set up a regular schedule that people can plan on.

"I think when the graffiti people see it being covered up frequently, it has a deterring effect on them," Elies said, adding that he has seen a reduction in the problem since people have painted over the markings regularly.

Two community meetings are scheduled for this month and next month.

Kimberly Click, founding member of Hui 'O Makiki, said the group is inviting police, state and city officials and consultants to a Nov. 18 meeting at Makiki District Park to talk about the issue and tell people how they can get involved.

"We're marketing it as a networking opportunity," Click said. "We're trying to get folks together from across the island. Our goal is to get a handle on it."

Sgt. Herb Schreiner of the Ho-nolulu Police Department, said organizers will try to energize the community and build partnerships to address the problem at a Dec. 5 meeting at Lunalilo Elementary School Cafeteria.

"The way the problem-solving and partnerships work is recognizing that it's not a police problem, it's a community problem, and we need to put together a community group to work on this," Schreiner said.

READERS RESPOND

Here is a sample of reader comments e-mailed in response to The Advertiser's graffiti coverage:

Toby Allen, who paints over graffiti when he sees it: "Wouldn't it be great for the mayor and the governor to be able to tell the world that Ho-nolulu is the first major city in the U.S. to be graffiti free, meaning any graffiti is painted over or cleaned up within 24 hours?"

Wendy Scafa: "I would add this consequence to a graffiti offender: Their community service (would) be specifically (to) clean up graffiti, theirs and others."

Frances Soares: Suggested stringent laws requiring identification to purchase paints and other graffiti materials and make merchants responsible. Wants schools to search backpacks before students enter schools. Graffiti sends a negative don't-care attitude, and citizens shouldn't tolerate it.

Guy Saranillio: Suggested creating an anti-graffiti program such as No Hope In Dope to take to the schools. Suggested providing a reward for identifying graffiti vandals. Wants harsher penalties and make parents pay for costs when minors are involved.

Lisa Valle Lange: Wrote that there are more and more taggers in Kailua. It really looks bad and the longer it stays, people get used to it.

Brandy Okada: Thought that $450 to clean a 10-by-10 wall was ridiculous. "It cost no more than $20 for all the supplies to paint the wall. Only 20 minutes to paint it, so labor probably (was) $10 an hour. I don't know what company this is, or whose quote it is but if that is correct, I am in the wrong business! In fact I will do it at half the price!"

Tony Holt: "They are tagging homes of little old ladies in my neighborhood nearly every Friday night in Mililani Town." Suggested penalties should be severe: 2,000 hours of community service on the weekend and driver's licenses of those convicted would be taken away if they used a car during the crime. "I think the community needs to get together and fight this crime. It does have victims and not just as a taxpayer."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.