Question: I have some questions about that homeless report in Friday’s paper (“Record number asked for services last year,” 808ne.ws/1OSEBjs). First off, how can I get the whole report? Does it get into who these homeless people are and what they need? Does it get into why the problem is growing? Or is it just numbers?
Answer: Here’s a direct link to the latest Homeless Service Utilization Report, 808ne.ws/1Wr8OOk, which is published annually by the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Center on the Family. You can also download the 16-page report on the center’s website at uhfamily.hawaii.edu.
The review of fiscal year 2015 found that a record 14,954 homeless people sought services throughout the state, an increase of 672 clients, or 4.7 percent, from the year before.
As for demographics, the report doesn’t get into details of individual cases, but it does distinguish the homeless population by gender, age, ethnicity, veteran status, educational attainment and whether the person is employed. It also lists the number of homeless people by county, household type, prior living situation, how long they’ve lived in Hawaii and the type of housing-related social services they have accessed.
The most common homeless client is a single, middle-age male of Hawaiian or Caucasian ancestry who has lived here at least 10 years, has a high-school diploma, is unemployed and is not a veteran of military service. The largest homeless population overall is on Oahu.
The report attributed the overall increase in the number of homeless people seeking social services to a 10 percent spike in the number of unaccompanied homeless adults getting help; at a total of 8,250 people, clients in that category accounted for more than half the total homeless population served in fiscal 2015. Also, more clients entered or stayed in the social-serv-ices pipeline than exited.
According to the report, “Two major system flow factors likely contributed to the elevated demand in the state’s homeless service system. First, the rate of clients ‘leaving’ the system did not keep up with the increased enrollment, resulting in 421 more clients from last fiscal year (2014) who continued to access services in FY 2015 — a total of 5,875 ‘stayers.’ The second factor was the influx of new clients to the service system, for a total of 5,717 ‘newcomers,’ an increase of 256 clients from last fiscal year.”
Compared with clients already in the system (which the report refers to as continuing/returning clients), system newcomers were more likely to be children under the age of 6 or young adults ages 18 to 24. Of the adult newcomers to the system, 20 percent had jobs, the report said.
Q: I’m upset that Sports Authority is closing. Are the gift cards still good?
A: Yes, but not for much longer. You may use Sports Authority gift cards in stores or online through June 28, according to the company. The company is no longer selling new gift cards.
Hawaii’s eight Sports Authority locations are expected to close by the end of August, along with the rest of the sporting goods chain’s more than 450 stores nationwide. The company is liquidating inventory now, having filed for bankruptcy in March.
Mahalo
There’s nothing more inconvenient than to have a flat tire on a busy Kaimuki street on a Wednesday night. It happened just after we had enjoyed a grand Chinese dinner and an Italian gelato dessert. We struggled. Out of nowhere a passing stranger came to our rescue, and with his help we were able to change the flat in a short time. We learned he was a Boy Scout — Troop 10, an affiliation I shared as I was once upon a time a member of that organization — and his name is Mako Ushijima, now an Eagle Scout. True to the Scout’s law he was helpful, friendly, courteous and kind. He had lived the Scout’s slogan, “do a good turn daily.” Thanks, Mako! We also learned that Troop 10 will be celebrating its 100th anniversary soon, and we intend to give it our wholehearted support. – B.S.K.
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
