IHS wins contract to operate Sand Island transitional housing
Above is an artist's rendering of a proposed modular housing project aimed at providing transitional shelter for the homeless at Sand Island. The Institute for Human Services won the contract to manage the one-year pilot project. (Group 70 International, City and County of Honolulu)
The Institute for Human Services has won the contract to operate the Hale Mauliola transitional modular housing center at Sand Island, Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced Thursday.
The $850,000 contract calls for IHS to run the facility as a one-year pilot project to house up 87 people at any one time. The nonprofit will partner with Helping Hands Hawaii on the project.
Caldwell said the city modified the original criteria for proposals to allow for couples to be accommodated in two-person units. Families, however, are not part of the plan.
Also, IHS was awarded a separate $500,000 contract to provide an outreach and community assistance program for homeless both entering the Sand Island facility and residing in other parts of Oahu. Kalihi, Palama, Iwilei and Downtown/Chinatown are the targeted areas for the program.
The outreach and assistance effort will include partnerships between the Institute for Human Services with Mental Health Kokua/Safe Haven, St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, We Are Oceania and Volunteer Legal Services of Hawaii.
A separate contract for the actual modular units themselves will be announced next week.
