On any given night in Hawaii, as many as 6,918 individuals are homeless with around 3,135, or 45 percent, of them sleeping on streets and sidewalks or beaches and parks, or squatting in buildings. According to 2014 statistics from the Statewide Homeless Point-in-Time Count, homelessness is growing and the percentage of those who live unsheltered is rising. Emergency homeless shelters often have beds available, but persuading the chronically homeless to take advantage of those openings can be a tough sell. Substance abuse, mental illness, aversion to shelter rules and fear of bedbugs are just a few of the many reasons cited for this apprehension. And while life inside a shelter is not without challenges (including bedbugs and lots of rules), those who do use them can find a respite from life on the street and the possibility of a new start. One familys journey from homelessness to the Institute for Human Services emergency shelter to more-permanent housing illustrates the many struggles that people on the street face. The Lopes family started a new chapter of their lives in Weinberg Village in Waimanalo this summer, but not before overcoming addiction, depression, unemployment and family separation. My hope is that we will be able to take this experience and start over, says 18-year-old Kauhane Lopes. The cycle of homelessness can be hard to break. Almost 10 percent of homeless families who stayed in emergency shelters and 25 percent of individuals returned less than a year after getting permanent housing, according to the 2013 Homeless Services Utilization Report. Advocates say more affordable-housing units, not more shelter space, is what Hawaii needs to significantly reduce homelessness. On Oahu, the island with the highest concentration of homelessness, city sweeps and police crackdowns move the unsheltered from one end of the island to another. The push has started to fill emergency shelters including the Institute for Human Services in Iwilei and Waikiki Healths Next Step Shelter in Kakaako.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 17:14:56 +0000
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