Hawaii’s winters are mild, but heavy rain, wind and temperatures dipping into the 60s still take a toll on unsheltered homeless people like Diana Tully.

Tully, 52, was among dozens of homeless people who picked up free blankets at the Waikiki Health Center’s drop-in center and clinic in Kaimuki on Wednesday.

“It’s been really cold,” said Tully, stuffing a blanket into her bag.

Tully lives on the streets in Kaimuki and said finding a dry, protected spot to get a little sleep is pretty tough during the winter months.

“I have no tent. I didn’t have a blanket until today,” she said.

This is the second year the health center has distributed blankets, thanks to donors Rosanna and Peter Hsi.

The couple bought 330 blankets to give out Wednesday, and greeted homeless people as they dropped by.

Rosanna Hsi, who lives in  Kahala, said she got the idea for the donation after seeing her sister give out coats to people in need in Hong Kong.

Distributing coats, she thought, would be hard because she’d need lots of different sizes and styles.

So she settled on blankets as a practical way to help people on the streets keep warm.

“I feel so sorry for them (the homeless) out there at night,” she said.

Homeless people and advocates say that while Hawaii may have temperate weather, those living on the streets do have a tougher time during the winter.

Rainy, chilly nights can cut into sleep or turn mild colds into major ones.

“The rain sucks,” said Stephanie Burge, 26, who grabbed a blanket at the health center Wednesday.

Burge lives on the streets with her boyfriend in the Ala Moana area. She said city laws make pitching a tent difficult in many spots, so they have had to be resourceful in finding shelter.

They are now living under the awning of a vacant storefront.

“It’s hard to find a place to hide from the rain,” she said.

A homeless “point in time” count conducted on a single night in January 2012 found 2,520 unsheltered people statewide.

Sophina Placencia, executive director of Waianae Community Outreach, said homeless people on the streets have few easy options when the temperature drops and the rain comes.

“It’s almost easy to forget because we go to bed warm at night,” she said. “But (unsheltered) people out there, if they don’t have enough layers, if they don’t have enough clothing, it makes them more susceptible to sicknesses.”

Forecasters are calling for lows in the high 60s at night through the weekend, with the possibility of rain and gusty winds.

Marc Gannon, chief of community health services at the Waikiki Health Center, said being out in the elements — especially during the winter — “certainly can affect the well-being and health of our patients.”

While giving out blankets is one way to offer unsheltered homeless people a little comfort, he said, ultimately the solution is moving people into long-term affordable housing.

The health center operates a “one-stop shop” at the Kaimuki center, where people can drop by for medical and counseling services, food, clothing, case management and referrals. The program also operates three vans — mobile units — that serve homeless people islandwide.

Gannon said the Kaimuki site sees about 100 people a day.

Joy Kodama, 61, and her daughter, Leilani Turnage, 34, dropped by the center Wednesday.

Originally from Hawaii island, they have been homeless for more than a year, but some of that time was spent in shelters.

They said being homeless during the winter is a constant battle with the elements.

“It’s a whole different world out there,” Turnage said.

After picking up her blanket, Lisa Kalakaua held it to her chest. The 51-year-old has been homeless for more than a decade, and now lives under a bridge in Kaimuki.

“I miss summer,” she said, before heading back to the spot she has made her home.