Randall Wallace, 67, was apartment hunting last week for a permanent home of his own following years on the street and after only two months
living in the new Iwilei homeless kauhale community, where he’s gained an appreciation for how good a stable life can be.
Wallace hasn’t had a home in his name since he and his wife divorced in 1985 and he gave her full ownership of the house for the benefit of their three children.
Then stints in prison for identity theft and fraud and an addiction to smoking “ice” left him bouncing around Oahu,
often living in parks where he was constantly robbed of his belongings, including a series of cellphones and ID.
Now Wallace hopes to become the 12th resident of the Alana Ola Pono kauhale community to move into a permanent home of his own since it welcomed the first of 65 residents in November into 45 100-square-foot “tiny homes.”
“Being here is a blessing,” Wallace said. “Every day’s now a blessing.”
The Alana Ola Pono kauhale represents the newest of 21 that have gone up around the state, with more planned in Waimanalo and Kapolei, on Middle Street and off of Nimitz Highway by Daniel K. Inouye
International Airport.
Most kauhale are intended as semipermanent housing, but the residents of the Alana Ola Pono kauhale are expected to stay only three to six months.
Whoever remains has to
be out in five years or so to make room for new, affordable workforce housing to be built around the future Liliha Civic Center rail station.
Last week, 43 individuals
and two couples were living at Alana Ola Pono, and 25 were 65 years old and older, like Marvin Boyd, 68, who has terminal prostate cancer but a gregarious, laugh-filled outlook.
After being homeless on Oahu for five years, the last three months at Alana Ola Pono “has been a real plus,” Boyd said. “Life has been good to me. On the streets it was crazy. I just gotta keep on doing better.”
Each of the residents has to pay 30% of their income in monthly rent — often from Social Security or disability payments — but no more than $450 a month.
Jun Yang, Hawaii’s homeless coordinator, spent Thursday morning cooking cheesy breakfast tacos with guacamole on the side for some of the kauhale residents and staff out of one of two communal kitchens where residents are encouraged to cook for themselves.
The kauhale concept, Yang said, helps homeless people get their lives straightened out, receive case management for their issues, which often include medical needs, and hopefully become prepared to move into permanent homes like Wallace and the 11 other Alana Ola Pono residents before him.
“This is a great place for people to gather themselves and move on,” Yang said.
The Institute for Human Services, which operates its men’s shelter down the street, runs Ala Ola Pono for the state.
It also plans on-site job training and encourages
residents to clean up and take care of the grounds while developing a sense
of community.
The kauhale was built on top of an old plantation-era railroad path that was later used as a gas station.
So 862 tons of contaminated soil, rock and debris had to be dug up and decontaminated, said Kimo Carvalho, executive director of HomeAid Hawaii, the nonprofit hui of island construction companies that build kauhale for the state at a discount by donating material and expertise. Workers are still paid their full union wages and benefits while their companies absorb their expenses to further reduce the cost to the state.
Ala Ola Pono represents what Carvalho calls a “remnant parcel” that’s hard to sell on the open market but sometimes ends up as a kauhale site.
Some two-thirds of the
$5.2 million development costs were spent on cleaning it up and installing sewer,
water and electrical
infrastructure.
Emergency proclamations issued by Gov. Josh Green, who opened Hawaii’s first kauhale in Kalaeloa as lieutenant governor, also lower costs by exempting kauhale from typical building restrictions, Carvalho said.
Although it began moving in the first residents on
Nov. 25, Alana Ola Pono
finally got connected to the electrical grid only last week after spending $5,000 to $6,000 every month to buy diesel fuel and rent a generator powerful enough to provide electricity to all 45 tiny homes, communal kitchens, communal bathrooms and laundry.
By connecting to the grid, the kauhale will now be able to save $3,000 to $4,000 a month, Carvalho said.
IHS Executive Director Connie Mitchell said in a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “Having
HomeAid Hawai‘i as our developer made all the difference at Alana Ola Pono. They understand that building homes for people experiencing homelessness requires both construction skill and compassion. The numbers tell the story of this success — 65 total residents served since opening, with 11 already successfully transitioning to more permanent housing. … This partnership embodies Governor Green’s vision for communities that help people get back on their feet with dignity and real pathways to independence.”
The 1.2-acre kauhale footprint sits in a discreet location off of Iwilei Street and can be difficult to see from the road.
It’s now the 11th homeless operation in an ever-growing Iwilei complex providing various programs for homeless people with different medical, mental health and physical health needs, many of them serious and life-threatening.
Wallace has a slipped disc that causes him pain and forces him to rely on a walker, along with diabetes that requires insulin, high blood pressure and stomach ulcers.
Since checking out of a clean-and-sober home on Date Street, Wallace no
longer smokes ice and said he now takes better care of himself and keeps up with his doctor’s appointments with the help of his case manager.
“Hundred percent I go to my doctor now,” he said. “Before, I stay smoke my ice and nevah care.”
Michael Wayne Kalani Riveira, 67, grew up without a father in Mayor Wright public housing and only went to school for the free breakfast and lunch, he said, rubbing his belly.
Riveira’s mother died when he was 12, and his life spiraled even more.
“No more guidance,” he said, looking away.
Riveira got addicted to “crack and vodka,” “couldn’t hold a job” and became homeless in Waikiki until he was swept with hundreds of others and slept in other parts of Oahu until an IHS outreach worker brought him to Ala Ola Pono in
January.
Riveira needs a walker
because he had his right knee replaced and had to have all of the toes on his
left foot amputated.
Riveira also has chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease and asthma, and
just got over a bout with pneumonia.
Nevertheless, now that he has a tiny home, he can lock in a community that encourages interaction and learning new skills like financial literacy, Riveira said, “Now I have hope. I love this place. It gives me hope to keep living. Now I want to find my own place.”
“I’m glad there’s places like this for people like us.”
The state Legislature just provided another $88.2 million for more kauhale.
Yang said each one will be built following input from their communities.
For critics and skeptics, Yang said they should visit kauhale like Alana Ola Pono and see for themselves.
“This is a great place,” he said. “Check it out.”
