{"id":18,"date":"2026-05-14T14:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T14:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=18"},"modified":"2026-05-14T14:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T14:37:14","slug":"homeless-count-dips-slightly-on-big-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=18","title":{"rendered":"Homeless count dips slightly on Big Island"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The number of people experiencing homelessness in Hawaii County dropped slightly over the past two years, according to data released Wednesday by a group of social service agencies.<\/p>\n

Read more NCAA championship trophy in hand, the Rainbow Warriors return to Manoa<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The number of people experiencing homelessness in Hawaii County dropped slightly over the past two years, according to data released Wednesday by a group of social service agencies.<\/p>\n

At a press conference in Kailua-Kona, Bridging the Gap Hawaii \u2014 a coalition dedicated to ending homelessness on the neighbor islands \u2014 unveiled the 2026 Homeless Point in Time Count data from surveys conducted in late January.<\/p>\n

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During the surveys, volunteers and outreach workers canvassed across the island locating residents staying in emergency shelters or transitional housing (sheltered), and in places \u201cnot meant for human habitation\u201d like cars, parks, beaches, sidewalks and remote areas (unsheltered). They asked everyone they encountered the same question: \u201cWhere did you sleep on the night of January 25, 2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

This annual one-night \u201csnapshot\u201d is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for organizations receiving federal homeless assistance grants.<\/p>\n

According to the data published Wednesday, the total count of homeless individuals across the island decreased by 3% from 718 people in 2024 to 696 people in 2026. Data is unavailable for 2025 because an unsheltered Point in Time Count wasn\u2019t conducted that year due to \u201cresource constraints.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of those 696 people, 467 were unsheltered \u2014 an 11% decrease from the 527 unsheltered people tallied in 2024. Added to this were 229 sheltered individuals \u2014 a 20% increase from the 191 sheltered people counted in 2024, implying that more people sleeping out in the open were finding access to shelters.<\/p>\n

The trend for homeless families was equally encouraging: a decrease of 20% from 41 families in 2024 to 33 families in 2026. At the same time, homeless veterans trended the other way: an increase of 16% from 38 people in 2024 to 44 people in 2026.<\/p>\n

Brandee Menino is the chair of Bridging the Gap and the CEO of HOPE Services Hawaii \u2014 a major recipient of county funding for homeless outreach efforts. Menino largely credits the decrease in homelessness numbers since 2024 to the county\u2019s awarding of grants to local nonprofits like HOPE.<\/p>\n

Since 2022, the Hawaii County Council has earmarked more than $33 million in Homelessness and Housing Fund grants through the Office of Housing and Community Development to a variety of projects combating the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s driving the decrease is the investment that the county has made over the last three years,\u201d she said. \u201cThe strategies of coordinated outreach, street medicine, emergency shelter and housing opportunities for people experiencing homelessness. The county is investing in the right strategies, and that\u2019s why we see that steady decline even after two years of when we did the last count.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what she sees as the biggest culprit behind homelessness on Hawaii Island, she is quick to answer: the price of housing \u2014 a barrier that\u2019s significantly lessened by providing housing vouchers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the main driver,\u201d she said. \u201cThe housing costs \u2014 people can\u2019t afford to live in the housing that\u2019s available in our community. When we look at our data that we collect throughout the year, what it tells us is that (social services) were able to house more than 500 individuals last year in 2025. Of those, nearly half were able to move into housing because they had a housing voucher so they could afford the unit.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the most effective long-term strategies to combating homelessness involve preventing people from losing their homes in the first place, while also leasing, buying and building affordable housing stock and shelter spaces.<\/p>\n

These include the 18-unit Dolphin Bay Hotel in Hilo, purchased by the county for $2.7 million in November 2025 and converted into long-term affordable housing, as well as the eight single-family homes purchased for $6.4 million by OHCD last year, and the 16-unit Kukuiola Emergency Shelter and Assessment Center in Kailua-Kona, slated to open next year.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s really four strategies,\u201d she said. \u201cPrevention \u2014 how do we keep people indoors, in their homes, not get kicked out, family conflict, (domestic violence). We need an intentional effort to help people keep their housing. \u2026We\u2019ve also got to lease as many housing options as there are in our community for this population. And buy property, which the county did where there was eight homes they purchased, and the Dolphin Bay Hotel. Then build, which is like they\u2019re building Kukuiola.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, efforts like these leading to declining homeless rates could be imperiled soon. HHF funding is set to expire next year unless the council votes to extend it, and council members have become increasingly vocal in their criticism about how the money is being spent.<\/p>\n

One of them is Hilo Councilman Dennis Onishi, who voted in December last year in favor of the most recent round of HHF funding totalling $6 million, but insisted that grant recipients formulate a \u201ctimeline of when they\u2019re going to stop getting money from the county.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believed this funding should help in starting a service for the homeless and not to sustain continued funding for the service,\u201d Onishi said this week in an email to the Tribune-Herald before Wednesday\u2019s data was published.<\/p>\n

If homelessness numbers were still trending upward despite spending tens of million of dollars over the past three years, he said, the county should \u201cstop the bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the results are found to be increasing, the county will need to put a stop to providing general funds to (the) Office of Housing and Community Development and request an audit on the past allocations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

An audit has already been approved, though. The council unanimously voted on Feb. 4 to request a performance audit of OHCD\u2019s Homelessness and Housing Fund \u2014 a measure introduced by council Chair Holeka Inaba and Hamakua Councilwoman Heather Kimball to \u201censure the effective use\u201d of funds.<\/p>\n

When asked if he thinks the grant money has been spent wisely over the years, Onishi responded with a resounding \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOver 60% of the funding being awarded goes to their salaries, benefits and taxes,\u201d he said about the nonprofits.<\/p>\n

Menino pushed back on this claim.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need this,\u201d she said. \u201cPersonnel is the staffing that do the work. Shelters are staffed 24\/7, seven days a week \u2026 in order to monitor the 50 individuals that are at the shelter. That\u2019s what you\u2019re paying (for) in order to increase shelter beds, you\u2019re paying for the staffing to do that work. You are investing in the outreach provider so you\u2019re increasing the people doing the work. There\u2019s more people doing the work on the streets \u2026 so that\u2019s where the personnel is.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said her organization is nonplussed by the council requesting an audit, which is common among nonprofits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go through multiple audits for all of our funders,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, I don\u2019t think any of the nonprofits are worried about that. We submit all the things Office of Housing ask us (for), whether it\u2019s receipts, payment requests \u2014 we are confident that that\u2019s not an issue for us. We welcome the audit. We have to report to IRS. We have to report to various different bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n

When faced with the risk that HOPE Services\u2019 county grant funding could be cut next year, she said the effect that would have on rates of homelessness would be catastrophic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very concerning, because our community would be a lot worse off if we did not house those 500-some households last year, and the year before and the year before,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s only going to get worse if they pull investments. It\u2019s shortsighted, right? Like five years and then that\u2019s it, we\u2019re done?\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Cavs rally from 15 down to win in OT, on cusp of first East finals since 2018: Takeaways<\/a><\/p>\n

Email Stefan Verbano at stefan.verbano@hawaiitribune-herald.com.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Homeless count dips slightly on Big Island – Hawaii News | Hawaii Tribune-Herald<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHomeless count dips slightly on Big Island - Moving to Hawaii Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=18\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Homeless count dips slightly on Big Island - Moving to Hawaii Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Homeless count dips slightly on Big Island - 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