One or two out of every 10 calls that Honolulu Police Department Lt. Dien Shearer answers on any given night in Waikiki is related to homelessness.

Just after sunset on a recent Wednesday, he already had handled about four calls ranging from stealing and harassment to disorderly conduct. As he strolled the beat, Shearer pointed out numerous homeless camps and begging spots on Kalakaua Avenue.

"Look," Shearer said as he passed a van parked near Kapiolani Park. "I see utensils so someone is probably living there, too."

Shearer easily spots the signs because he was briefly homeless as a young police recruit.

"I know what it’s like," he said. "I was homeless twice, once for two days and the second time for two weeks. I was too proud to go to a shelter."

Shearer lived in his car until he saved enough to get an affordable rental. As a rookie officer, he was assigned to the district where he was once homeless. Now, 25 years later, Shearer says the homelessness problem has worsened.

Marc Gannon, chief of community health services for the Waikiki Health Center, agrees. Health center data show more new homeless people are arriving in Waikiki.

"Of the 107 new clients that we served in the past six months, 87 … arrived from the mainland in the past 30 days," Gannon said.

Shearer said the mounting homelessness is a constant drain on police and emergency resources, hurts tourism and business, attracts crime and creates public health hazards.

"If Waikiki Business Improvement District didn’t clean up every day, it would look like a landfill," he said.

And while community leaders and politicians are focusing renewed attention on the problem, Shearer is living proof of the issue’s complexity. Every unsheltered person on Oahu has a unique story; there is no one-size-fits-all solution to solve homelessness.

While Shearer just needed a leg up, it is more complicated to help the mentally ill, alcoholics and drug addicts who are passed out by sunset, or the young runaways roaming the streets.

"I don’t believe a single solution is the silver bullet," Gannon said. "Homelessness comes in all shapes and sizes. We have employees who have been homeless. The needs of working families who can’t make rent are very different than the individual who is mentally ill or is a substance abuser."

The diversity of homelessness just within the two-mile district is a reminder of the breadth of the issue throughout the island. On any given night on Oahu, as many as 1,318 homeless people could be living unsheltered on the street, according to the most recent count. In Waikiki, more of them will be transients, singles, young couples and teenagers.

Homelessness looks different in Chinatown, the Leeward Coast and other places.

"We really aren’t seeing families in Waikiki," Waikiki Neighborhood Board member Liz Larson said, adding that she fears for the safety of her children as they walk to school. "In our area, it’s a lot of mentally ill, drug abusers and people who aren’t clean."

Adding to the frustration of residents is that many of Waikiki’s homeless come from western states such as Nevada, Colorado or California where they also were transients.

"Most typically purchase their own tickets and are homeless when they arrive," Gannon said. "Many are working or have social benefits."

Gannon said mainland homeless people make their way to Waikiki because of its iconic appeal. Some always intended to live a homeless lifestyle in Hawaii, while others were pursuing jobs that fell through or ran out of money staying in hostels.

Additionally, Waikiki Health Center workers have noticed an increase in the severely mentally ill homeless who live in Waikiki, Gannon said.

"The severity and complexity of their illness makes it especially difficult to assist them with housing and treatment options," he said. In six months, Waikiki Care-A-Van was only able to place 11 of the area’s homeless people into emergency shelters, 11 into permanent housing, four into transitional housing, two into substance-abuse treatment and seven into case management.

"We are doing the very best that we can to increase the number of positive outcomes," Gannon said. "It takes a community approach and an individual’s own will to make a change."

The focus should be on long-term solutions such as scattered housing and programs with wraparound services rather than short-term fixes like sweeps and shelters, he said.

"I don’t think people realize the types of individuals that we are dealing with. It can take six months of effort just to get them to accept a can of food," Gannon said.