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.
The first occupants will move into the city’s new Punawai Rest Stop studio apartments in Iwilei around Thanksgiving, months ahead of schedule, offering outgoing Mayor Kirk Caldwell and outgoing City Councilman Joey Manahan an opportunity to bookend their five-year-long partnership to reduce homelessness. Read more
Hawaii’s most unusual criminal court addressing low-level crimes committed mostly by homeless people has returned from a COVID-19-driven hiatus at a new location along the Leeward Coast to make it easier for people to clear their cases and help reboot their lives. Read more
Mayor-elect Rick Blangiardi wants to eliminate the city’s current “compassionate disruption” philosophy to address homelessness on Oahu, including the frequent sweeps of homeless camps. Read more
State law enforcement officers conducted a sweep this week at the Sand Island State Recreation Area following complaints of squatters yelling at beachgoers and dogs chasing people. Read more
Contractors removed about 190 tons of trash between Monday and Thursday. Read more
Honolulu election officials said they anticipated more Oahu residents would show up on Election Day to vote at one of the two designated voter services centers on the island, just not 4,520 of them during that 12-hour span. Read more
Homeless encampments in the middle of Nimitz Highway in Iwilei continue to grow despite repeated sweeps — including one in August — and will represent one of the first images to greet tourists Thursday when Hawaii’s visitor industry tries to regain its footing in the era of COVID-19. Read more
Today, on the 182nd anniversary of Queen Lili‘uokalani’s birthday, the trust that bears her name is taking a more intensive approach to housing and helping young Native Hawaiian adults who have aged out of the foster care system and have few opportunities in the era of COVID-19. Read more
A private contractor for the state removed on Monday appliances and other items from the sidewalk along North Nimitz Highway where a homeless encampment has grown to about a dozen tents. Read more
Every day, Jasmine Lopez, 33, wakes up in her Moiliili apartment with her 1-year-old son, thinking it’s all a dream. Read more
The Institute for Human Services, which runs The Shelter, is receiving more pushback from area residents regarding the proposed homeless triage and transfer station slated to be in Kalihi. Read more
Honolulu’s original neighborhood — the 52.2-acre parcel of land known as Chinatown — still feels “safe” to 64% of registered voters despite complaints about homelessness, crime and concerns early this year that it could be the source of COVID-19. Read more
Homelessness has gotten “worse” on Oahu in the past 12 months, according to a whopping 67% of registered voters. Read more
In just three months, “Auntie Blanche” McMillan has created permanent homes for 32 homeless people from Waiminalo and plans to build 100 more on state land at the end of the road on Hilu Street. Read more
The once-every-decade federal census of Hawaii’s homeless population — which has been pushed to late September because of the COVID-19 pandemic — has the potential to affect Hawaii’s share of $800 billion in federal spending over the next 10 years, according to federal officials. Read more
The results of the annual “Point in Time” count of Hawaii’s homeless is in, and the perishable nature of such data is evident. Read more
Hawaii lost its ignoble distinction last year of having the highest per capita rate of homelessness in America, but Oahu’s homeless count increased by 0.7 percent during the nation’s latest annual homeless census, while the neighbor islands saw a similar 1% increase. Read more
The deadly stabbing of a 52-year-old homeless man in Kakaako rattled some area businesses. Read more
The killing of a homeless man in Kakaako on Wednesday night underscores the deadly world of Oahu’s homeless population. Read more
In response to vast opposition from area residents and businesses, the Institute for Human Services has canceled its plans to develop a proposed triage and comfort station for the homeless at a building in Chinatown. Read more
Plans for IHS to use $2.6 million in federal grant money to purchase and renovate a three-story building drew immense opposition from Chinatown businesses, residents and politicians. Read more
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