Homelessness In Hawaii 

I think we all already know or are aware of the homeless situation on the island of Hawaii, but do we know why it's been such an ongoing situation and what ways we can help to eventually end this predicament? Ever since back in the day, homelessness has been quite the problem. Homelessness in Hawaii is quite big with more than 4,400 homeless people, more than half of homeless people on Oahu are unsheltered: more than 70% are homeless individuals and more than 20% are families. As for the island of Oahu, more than 70% of the homeless are individuals and more than 20% are families. 

Governor Josh Green of Hawaii has seen the great problem and made it one of his top priorities. Green began to take action, starting a movement to help attack this problem and bring homelessness down by 50% over the next four years. By 2030 he had already helped create “Kauhale '' communities to get unsheltered veterans, kūpuna, and others into safe housing options. Along with Green, James Koshiba, the new state homeless coordinator, has also made “clearing obstacles on the pathway from the street to home” one of his top priorities. Significant changes are already being made and movements are being undertaken in Hawaii already. The state has experienced a 24.6% overall decrease in homeless individuals from 2016 to the past year 2022. With consistent work, commitment, and help from everyone in the community, homelessness will be extinct and this is the shooting goal. Anyone can help and anything counts.

To continue, many Hawaiians believe other states send their homeless to Hawaii, due to the fact that -1,767 or 16 % homeless people seek benefits and services from the state and these people report living in Hawaii for less than five years according to Vincent Triola . Of this number, 615 have been here in Hawaii in just a year or less. Many of these homeless individuals are likely people who moved to Hawaii and lost their job or were poorly prepared for the higher cost of living. A bill has repeatedly been in the legislature that would provide funding to return the homeless to their place of origin.his solution might work in the short term, but clearly, this will not work in the long run since people continue to move to Hawaii for many different reasons, and funding could be better utilized for jobs or housing.(Fawcett D. 2016)

The Green Plan, Green signed an emergency proclamation that suspends certain laws in order to expedite construction. Green plans to have multiple kauhale villages among the Hawaiian islands, including one downtown and Waianae of Oahu. We have around 30 million as of right now andGreen says a kauhale typically costs about $2.5 million to build. That consists of about 30 tiny homes along with shared amenities, like bathrooms, kitchens, and other community spaces. Some challenges that we may face though is the housing and amenities but the homeless face problems such as lack of transportation, lack of education and schooling, employment challenges, and legal concerns. Other concerns or challenges may be whether we will have enough houses to provide for all the homeless on the island. We will continue to raise and build funds to create more housing, and there are also ohana zones right now. Ohana zones are places where the homeless are able to go in the meantime without the fear of being moved by HPD or other forces. “We want people in homes. We want a roof over their head,” Green said. “But we know the reality is that some people aren’t ready. So the fewer resources we have to use from police to move people out the better.” 

To conclude, as we can see the near future is looking bright for the goal of having less than 1% homeless homeless. Josh Green the community and the world are working at their very best to put an end to the situation. The kauhale homes movement will soon be great providing these homeless people housing/shelter, food, clothing everything they need to get back on their feet. It all starts with what we can do to help these people in need, let's work together, communicate, cooperate, and end homelessness.