Hawaii’s homeless population growing, report says
HONOLULU — A new report from Hawaii’s largest homeless service provider says the number of people travelling to Oahu and then becoming homeless is growing.
Hawaii News Now reported Friday that the Institute for Human Services says 209 people from across the mainland showed up at one of its shelters last year looking for help. That’s up from 165 people in 2017.
The vast majority were single men, many of whom had been on the island less than three months.
Spokesman Kimo Carvalho says about 10 percent of the state’s homeless population recently traveled to Hawaii.
The institute developed a relocation program for homeless to return to their home states. Donations from Hawaii’s tourism industry are used to cover half the airfare while the homeless person is responsible the rest.
