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Honolulu Office of Housing’s new leader says sweeps are an unsuccessful approach to homelessness on Oahu
The number of homeless people on the streets of Oahu has grown. There are fewer shelter beds available because of COVID-19 distancing. Read more
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 number of homeless people on the streets of Oahu has grown. There are fewer shelter beds available because of COVID-19 distancing. Read more
The state and city are coordinating this week in cleanups and removal of homeless encampments in their respective lands on the slopes of Diamond Head Crater, officials confirmed Wednesday. Read more
Thirty long-term camps on the sides of Diamond Head Crater have been cleaned up over the past week, state Department of Land and Natural Resources officials said today. Read more
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The Honolulu city beach parks makai of Diamond Head Road are crowded with walkers, surfers, fishers, beachgoers and sightseers from dawn to dusk. Read more
The idea is, what if instead of calling the police to address a homelessness issue, people had another number they could call that would send outreach services instead? Read more
Tourism leaders, elected officials, law enforcement and others are gearing up to address a variety of safety and security issues faced by Hawaii’s travel industry, including COVID-19 and homelessness. Read more
A wave of rising homelessness is expected to wash over Hawaii in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, yet any increase this year won’t be measured because an annual survey has been called off due to COVID-19. Read more
A hundred homeless, runaway or otherwise at-risk Honolulu youth enjoyed a hot meal on Christmas Eve thanks to an anonymous but never forgotten act of kindness some 5,000 miles and 42 years removed. Read more
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
