TO OUR READERS
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now are joining forces to report on the ever-worsening homelessness crisis.
While both news organizations will continue to report daily stories on homelessness, we will work together on bigger projects that delve into all aspects of the issue. To reach the widest possible audience for these important projects on this crisis, you will see reports in print, online and on broadcasts.
For example, on this page of the Star-Advertiser and in Hawaii News Now broadcasts on Monday, you will find stories on homeless encampments you might not be aware of and learn details about some of them.
Through stories such as these, we hope to raise awareness among the public — and public officials — about the gravity of the situation and the need to take action to help the homeless and, by doing so, help our community.
Both newsrooms hope you, as readers and viewers, will help with this project by offering comments, observations and suggestions online and in letters to the editor. While a collaboration between two competing newsrooms is unusual, Hawaii’s homelessness crisis requires an unusual approach.
Two officials with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness are in town to share a message with more than 220 mayors from across the United States that progress can be made, even in high-cost housing markets like Hawaii. Read more
The homeless in the Iwilei area soon will have their own version of an urgent-care facility aimed at providing immediate, but not-quite emergency, medical help. Read more
Monday represented the first time Community Outreach Court was held on the Windward side, when Kaneohe District Court is otherwise out of session. Read more
The combination of drugs, alcohol, poor health, lack of hygiene and medical attention mean Oahu’s homeless population has an average lifespan potentially decades shorter than the population in general. Read more
The causes of death were varied, although disease and narcotics use were common causes. Read more
The city pavilions in Kuhio Beach park on Kalakaua Avenue were built so local residents and tourists could pause awhile to bask in the beauty of Waikiki’s sandy shores. Read more
The new head of the organization that conducts Oahu’s annual homeless census has a familiar name but an entirely different background outside of state politics. Read more
Residents have found reasons to stay at Kakaako Gateway parks despite various efforts from the city, state and private organizations to move the homeless away from that area. Read more
Since the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s five-part series on homelessness in Chinatown began running this week, life already has changed for at least one of the people featured who had been on the streets for 17 years. Read more
In response to complaints about homeless activity, Chinatown could see more private security patrols, expanded homeless outreach through the new Joint Outreach Center and the loss of River of Life Mission’s homeless feeding program. Read more
Oahu saw only a 1% drop in homelessness in January — not the 4% decline reported in February, according to data released Wednesday. Read more
The updated Oahu numbers mean that Hawaii saw an overall 1 percent decline in homelessness in January. Read more
In the summer of 2015, one of America’s largest homeless encampments sprung up in plain site around Kakaako Waterfront Park where Honolulu police and state sheriff’s deputies found themselves chasing more than 300 homeless people between city streets, state parks and privately owned parcels of land. Read more
Leman Key said she’s been homeless for 23 years, but could not remember her age. Read more
Chinatown business owners and married couple Oren Schlieman and Fran Butera symbolize the frustration of Chinatown merchants. Read more
Morning, noon and night in Chinatown they yell at the sky, mutter obscenities, and sleep in doorways where they sometimes reek of urine — or worse. Read more
May is Mental Health Month, a time to raise awareness around mental health issues. For me personally, that means advocating for and supporting the 7,000 homeless individuals living in Hawaii, many of whom suffer from mental illness. Read more
As former Waikiki hotel manager Daniel Hoover rode the bus past the bench he used to sleep on at the crossroads of Kalakaua and Kuhio avenues, he had a surreal moment. Read more
While homelessness overall was down on the neighbor islands, a snapshot from January shows a wide range for each county compared with the data collected in 2018 — from a wild 51% increase on Kauai to a 21% drop on Hawaii island to a 1% decrease on Maui. Read more
Despite the perception that the issue of homelessness can never be solved, we actually know what works: permanent supportive housing, or in other words, housing with wrap-around professional support services that include mental health and addiction programs. Read more
Hawaii currently has the highest per capita rate of homelessness in the nation. Read more
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