Our State of Homelessness:

Day 1: Maui

Ka Hale A Ke Ola : A comprehensive resource center which provides emergency and transitional shelter to the homeless on Maui. 

Executive Director Monique Yamashita gave us a tour of the facilities and introduced us to current residents. The shelter is always at capacity, and while the goal is to transition people into permanent housing within 90 days, Monique says the reality is it can take up to 6 months.

Kahului: In a relatively new phenomenon for Maui, homeless encampments have emerged from the bushes and have begun showing up prominently along major thoroughfares and around businesses in

downtown Kahului Louis live on the sidewalk in front of Ross. Steven is elderly and is suffering from medical problems. 

Just down the road from Steven and Louie, I met a young woman living on the side of the road who suffers from methamphetamine addiction. She expressed a desire to get clean,  but detox services are hard to come by on Maui, so arrangements were made to get her services on Oahu.

Kahului: The old UH Maui dorms will be converted into 12 permanent supportive apartments for homeless families and will be renovated using Ohana Zone funds. 
I toured the future housing site with Maui Mayor Mike Victorino, Representative Lynn DeCoite, and Maui County Councilmember Tasha Kama who represents Kahului and chairs the Affordable Housing Committee. 

Kanaha: Elaborate campsites can be found off the beach and in the bushes around Kanaha Beach Park.

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