Homelessness in Hawaii
Homelessness in Hawaii has grown in recent years, leaving the state with 487 homeless per 100,000 people, the nation's highest rate per capita, above New York and Nevada, according to federal statistics. Since 2010, the rise has come even as the national rate has fallen during the economic recovery.
The increase, driven by years of rising costs in the island chain, low wages and limited land, thrust the image of people sleeping on beaches alongside the state's famed one of a relaxing tropical paradise.
Officials have tried to solve the problem. They've offered homeless services, banned sitting and lying on Waikiki's sidewalks and proposed using shipping containers as temporary housing. Gov. David Ige's declaration of a state of emergency on homelessness in October underscored the depth of the crisis:
— While there are shelters and programs to help the homeless, there are far fewer empty beds than are needed — about 550 on any given night on Oahu, where an estimated 4,900 of the 7,620 homeless people live, according to service providers.
— The state needs 27,000 affordable rental units by 2020, but lawmakers set aside enough money for 800 units this year. Maintaining the existing public housing could cost $800 million over the next decade, according to state estimates.
— Statewide, 10,000 people wait five years or more to get into state-run public housing, and the waiting list for Section 8 rent assistance in private housing was so long, they closed the list for about a decade.
— The state's population of unsheltered families ballooned 46 percent from 2014 to 2015, said Scott Morishige, state coordinator on homelessness. He said changes in public housing policy and mental health services contributed to the rise.
While the state doesn't have a break down by race of the overall homeless population, data on homeless shelter use show that 30 percent were Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian, 27 percent Micronesian, Marshallese or other Pacific Islanders, and 26 percent white.
Micronesians say they face language barriers and discrimination. For Native Hawaiians, some of whom see the U.S. government as an occupier since a group of mainlanders overthrew the queen and took over their land, the influx of other Pacific Islanders using services adds insult to injury. (AP)
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