The number of homeless people on Big Island streets has dropped by 28% since last year.
According to the Homeless Point in Time Count (a federally mandated census that seeks to count anyone who slept on the street, in a car or in other areas), homeless people decreased from 1,003 people in 2023 to 718 in 2024. .
Brandee Menino, executive director of Hope Services, plays with a young child as outreach workers conduct a survey with parents for a federally mandated point-in-time count on Jan. 27, 2023. (Photo: Tiffany DeMasters/ Big Island Now)
Bridging The Gap, a coalition of agencies working to end homelessness on the Neighbor Islands, released the results of the 2024 Point-in-Time Homeless Count on Wednesday.
This year, volunteers went around neighboring island communities and asked people: “Where did you sleep on January 22?”
“We attribute the decline in homelessness to the unprecedented funds our county has allocated to homelessness and affordable housing,” said Paul Normann, president of Community Alliance Partners. “When donors and funders see that our local government has a stake, it gives us leverage to attract even more funding for compassionate and effective programs.”
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While the count does not capture all homeless people, it provides a snapshot of a night of homelessness in Hawai’i. The data collected is compared from county to county and year to year, to help stakeholders understand homelessness in their communities.
According to county officials, the top three reasons cited for homeless people’s current living situation are family/relationship conflicts (23.4%); not being able to pay rent (18.5%); and disability, including mental, physical, or substance use (13%).
“Because each island has a different community, it is important to look at the results for each individual county to get an accurate picture of homelessness in that community,” says Brandee Menino, president of Bridging the Gap. “That’s especially true with the impact of the Maui fires.”
The report includes data from the years in which the count was carried out from 2018 to 2024.
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The 2024 point-in-time count data for Hawai’i Island also showed a 52% decrease in the number of homeless families with children since 2018. Since last year, family homelessness decreased by 14 families.
A Hope Services outreach worker conducts a survey in Kona with a homeless man named “OG,” which he says is short for “Old Guy,” for the federally mandated spot count on Jan. 27, 2023. Photo: Tiffany DeMasters /Isla Grande Now
There was a reduction of 12 homeless veterans, a 24% drop from 2023.
“These numbers reflect the hard work and dedication of our community partners and county departments working together to address homelessness on our island,” said Mayor Mitch Roth. “While we celebrate this progress, we know there is still much work to do. “We remain committed to ensuring all residents have access to safe and stable housing.”
In recent years, Hawai’i County has allocated funds to address the issue of homelessness. Sixteen grant agreements were signed with 13 nonprofit organizations to improve service delivery and build capacity among service providers.
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Approximately 169 affordable housing units have been built to serve households earning less than 60% of the area median income (AMI), and 18 of those units are reserved for extremely low-income households (earning less than 30% of the AMI ).
The county is also utilizing 2,300 federally funded housing vouchers, including distributing 114 emergency housing vouchers to homeless households and an additional 65 Veterans Affairs supportive housing vouchers to veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. home.
For the full spot count report, click here.
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