Providers of services to homeless people have planned a host of events statewide for next week aimed at boosting awareness of the hurdles they face and urging more people to be part of the solution.

At Kewalo Basin Park on Monday, the Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance provided a lead-in of sorts to Homeless Awareness Week by giving attendees a chance to simulate homelessness and taste food that could be cooked on a grill on the streets. The "Taste of Outdoors"menu included spaghetti, citrus chicken and pork and beans.

Paul Ruddell, program coordinator at the alliance, said the "Save My Hale" gathering was aimed at highlighting the skills that homeless people have and the major barriers they face to moving into long-term housing.

"It’s a series of obstacles and challenges," he said. "It’s a journey."

Though turnout at the gathering was small, those who did show up were given index cards with a scenario taken from the lives of homeless people the alliance has helped.

Attendees were then assigned to seek "help" from volunteers who represented different groups, from mental health agencies to substance abuse treatment centers to landlords. Along the way, they confronted hurdles they would have to overcome to find long-term housing.

For example, a chronically homeless person might have substance abuse and mental health problems, Ruddell said. Going into a drug treatment center requires insurance. After treatment a host of other complications can arise, from difficulty finding a "clean and sober"house to trouble with chronic illnesses that have gone untreated for years. Getting a job to pay for housing and medication is another barrier, Ruddell said, since the formerly homeless person might still have mental health difficulties and probably has no job experience or credit.

Doran Porter, CEO of the alliance, said the event was aimed at demonstrating how diverse the homeless population is and how tough it can be for them to get back into housing.

He noted that homelessness remains a significant problem in the islands.

His organization provides case management services to homeless people at eight centers. In the last year, he said, about 12,000 people have sought help through the alliance. In 2008, when the nonprofit had one center, about 150 people received help.

HOMELESS Awareness Week officially began Monday and will feature a conference, several candlelight vigils and a hoo­lau­lea in Tamarind Park.

Darryl Vincent, chairman of Partners in Care, a consortium of homeless service providers, said the main push behind the week of events is to educate more people on homelessness and to spur them to get involved.

"We honestly believe it’s a shared problem with a shared solution," said Vincent, who is chief operating officer of U.S. VETS, which offers veterans counseling, housing, career development and other services.

At the "Save My Hale" event at Kewalo Basin Park, organizers agreed, saying that government, citizens and the homeless themselves all need to pitch in.

Event volunteer Ileen Wong, 65, said if more people in the community took the time to learn about homelessness, more resources might be directed at the problem.

"We all see them on the streets, but why are they there?"Wong said.

Attendee Tony Walker, who used to work for the Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance and is now a mental health case manager, said homelessness is ignored by too many.

"It’s not a social problem,"he said. "These are human beings."