Homelessness is primarily a social issue, meaning that systemic factors interact to create conditions in which homelessness is possible for individuals. In other words, people experience homelessness when certain individual vulnerabilities (e.g., mental health condition, chronic illness) interact with structural level issues (e.g., low wages, high cost of living, discrimination, and lack of affordable housing). Groups and individuals with certain vulnerabilities are more likely to fall into homelessness. 

Hawaiʻi, and Oʻahu in particular, has high and rising housing prices coupled with low affordable rental inventory. With the median price for single-family homes at over $1 million in late 2021, many residents are priced out of home ownership. Unfortunately, the state also has a lack of affordable rental housing, with only an estimated 38 affordable units per 100 extremely low-income renters in 2022. 

Hawaiʻi also has the lowest minimum wage rate in the nation when adjusted for cost of living, which was the highest cost of living in the nation in 2021. Additionally, Hawaiʻi is ranked 15th for the most regressive state and local tax policies in the nation, meaning that low-income earners in Hawaiʻi pay a disproportionate share of taxes compared to high income earners. 

Together, these structural issues create conditions in which individuals and families with certain vulnerabilities are more likely to fall into homelessness. Not surprisingly, in 2020, Hawaiʻi had the 3rd highest homelessness rate in the US.

A structural problem requires structural solutions. Societies can prevent homelessness by enacting higher minimum wages and affordable housing policies as well as creating a stronger social safety net for people with vulnerabilities. Additional large-scale solutions include universal housing policies that recognize housing as a right. Locally, enacting laws prohibiting landlord discrimination and ensuring right to legal representation in eviction courts could also help address homelessness among renters. 

There is no evidence to support this claim. While relocation programs do exist, there is no evidence to suggest that people are moving to Hawaiʻi in any systematic way. In fact, the vast majority of individuals experiencing homelessness in Hawaiʻi are "local", and the majority identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Native Hawaiians, in particular, are disproportionately represented in the homeless population when compared to their overall representation in the general population. 

Notably, this narrative exists in almost every major US city and in many communities as a way to explain why homelessness rates in that location are high (see: here, here, here, here, and here)--despite ample evidence to the contrary.

This is another common (and false) narrative to explain high homelessness rates. Research shows that people experiencing homelessness want access to housing, healthcare, and other benefits of society just like housed people. In fact, the majority of people experiencing homelessness cite economic reasons, such as job loss, as the cause of their homelessness--not choice. Even when people "choose" to be homeless, they are choosing from limited options (e.g., "choosing" between living in a violent household and living on the street; "choosing" between living in a crowded shelter and living in the park). 

Research demonstrates that time and time again, people experiencing homelessness would choose safe stable housing if it were an option. This does not mean that the recovery process and transition to housing is not difficult. Some people do "fall out" of housing, often because they lack social and community support and because of the ongoing effects from the trauma of experiencing homelessness.

People experiencing homelessness do, overwhelmingly, want and actively pursue assistance. Sometimes, the assistance offered does not match the needs of the individual. Directly asking individuals how service providers can best meet their needs and overcome barriers is of critical importance. Additionally, there are many cases where individuals have pursued services without success. Finding and applying for services can be a complicated and time-consuming process, and unfortunately, the outreach workers and case managers who help navigate the service system are often overworked and underpaid, leading to high turnover and burnout, especially since COVID-19. Too often, the need outweighs the resources, leading many people to fall through the cracks. After years of pursuing help with no outcomes, people lose hope and give up.

People who experience homelessness are at increased risk of mortality and have an average life expectancy 20-30 years less than the general population. They are also at increased risk for communicable diseases, like hepatitis and COVID-19, and for developing mental health issues. Additionally, the stress of homelessness can exacerbate chronic health conditions, like hypertension, asthma, and diabetes. Evidence suggests that the longer individuals are living in unsheltered and/or unstable environments, the more likely they are to develop chronic illness, mental health disorders, and experience violence and trauma. In other words, homelessness is a public health issue. 

Despite the fact that rates of mental illness and substance use are higher among individuals experiencing homelessness than housed individuals, the majority of these individuals actually do not experience symptoms of a diagnosable mental disorder. Estimates of mental health disorders among individuals experiencing homelessness in the US range from 25% to 30%. 

However, the longer people remain living under the extreme conditions of homelessness, the more likely they are to develop these conditions. This is why prevention and early interventions, like CIS, are important. 

Homelessness is primarily an economic situation and not a social identity. In other words, homelessness is the result of extreme poverty and is not an individual characteristic. This language emphasizes this point. Another common term preferred by communities, individuals, and families experiencing homelessness is "houseless" or "unhoused."