The number of people experiencing homelessness on Oʻahu increased again this year — particularly those who are unsheltered.
According to this year's Point in Time Count, the amount of people experiencing homelessness increased by about 12%. For those who are unsheltered, the increase was higher at 17%.
Partners in Care organizes the count each year. Throughout one day in January, volunteers survey the homeless population on the island.
“Since 2022 there was an increase in all populations. The shelter population has decreased by 50%. Since 2010, the unsheltered population has surged by 62% contributing significantly to the current rise in our total count,” said Tanya Brown, Partners in Care Advisory Board chair.
“These findings really underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions to address both the immediate shelter needs and long-term solutions to reduce homelessness on Oʻahu.”
This year the count was able to track where larger encampments were located. Downtown Honolulu and the Waiʻanae Coast had the largest concentrations of those experiencing homelessness.
The count also showed an increase in children without housing.
Ryan Catalani, the executive director of Family Promise and a member of the advisory board, said he was concerned that families with children experiencing homelessness had increased 1.5 times faster than the rest of the population.
“For families that don't have a social support network, family or friends they can lean on, if they're already sort of on the economic precipice, then it can be sort of any one factor that can lead to a spiral that leads to homelessness,” he said.
“We see families whose car broke down and they had to choose between paying for their car repair or paying for the rent.”
Catalani added that because many unhoused children are under age 5 — when their brains are developing the most — their housing situation can have long-term negative health effects.
The recent increases could also be partially attributed to dwindling federal relief funding given to the state and counties to keep people housed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As those funds come to an end, so do the programs they kept afloat, like rental relief.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi pointed to the current numbers being close to pre-COVID as proof that the rent and utility relief program was a success.
“That in and of itself is a win,” Blangiardi said. “We spent over $300 million and [kept] over 24,000 people from becoming homeless.”
However, Gov. Josh Green said this Point in Time Count is just that: a snapshot. He said the situation may not be as bad as the report suggests.
“Back five or six years ago, we had a hundred fewer individuals that would go out and do the count. Now we have more volunteers, so what does that mean? We're able to find more people. We're able to actually count more people,” Green said.
“So it is very difficult to do an apples-to-apples comparison, but needless to say, we don't want to have anyone who is homeless over time.”
Green also highlighted that the report showed a 16% decrease this year in those who were chronically homeless.
He pointed to ongoing state efforts to address homelessness, such as reducing income taxes and building more kauhale.
