Where will the homeless of Ala Moana Beach Park wake up this morning?

Good question. No one knows.

When the city closed Ala Moana Beach Park for needed repairs last night, it did so without any clear backup emergency plan to accommodate the more than 200 homeless displaced by the closure.

That's not the city's responsibility, said city spokesman Bill Brennan. He said the closure was brought on in part because the state had closed the H-1 viaduct area to the homeless. The city, Brennan said, didn't want the homeless to find their way to city parks. Brennan added that the state government with its various departments is better able to deal with the overall problem of homelessness.

Perhaps so. But to close the park at night for a month and not have a plan for the individuals and families who are forced to call Ala Moana Beach Park home shows a missed opportunity for the city to show some leadership.

During a time when the local emergency shelters are full and the entire state is facing a crucial shortage of vacant affordable units, to not have thought about emergency shelter for the displaced is shortsighted.

Better advance planning would have helped. Outreach workers for local nonprofits that deal with the homeless were caught unprepared and left scrambling to find replacement housing ever since they were informed of the closure announcement Friday. But it's tough coming up with solutions when there's no housing or shelter to be had.

The situation clearly underscores the need for more transitional housing, or at the very least, "safe zones" where the homeless can go.

For now, the closure of the park will last for a month. Whether or not the closure is made permanent, it's time for the city, state and advocates to work together to come up with something that will help those left with no place to go.

This is everyone's problem.