LIHUE — The personal hygiene kits for veterans is a way people can show their appreciation for homeless veterans, said Celia Melchor-Questin, retired senior volunteer program director. Last week, the RSVP launched its hygiene supplies drive to help homeless veterans,
LIHUE — The personal hygiene kits for veterans is a way people can show their appreciation for homeless veterans, said Celia Melchor-Questin, retired senior volunteer program director.
Last week, the RSVP launched its hygiene supplies drive to help homeless veterans, and response to the program has been well-received.
“We just picked up a delivery from the Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas and had RSVP volunteers packing it away,” Melchor-Questin said.
The drive will continue to Jan. 24, states a county release, and is being done in recognition of MLK Day of Service as a way to transform the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. into community service which helps to empower and strengthen local communities. On Monday, there will be a MLK celebration at the Kukui Grove Center to accept contributions.
Some of the items being requested during the hygiene supplies drive include toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving kits, shampoo, body soaps and hand sanitizers.
Barbara Johnson of the Department of Veteran Affairs said there was an orthodontist who donated toothpaste samples and toothbrushes as part of the drive.
A social worker with the Housing and Urban Development and VA, Johnson said there were 45 homeless veterans on Kauai registered during the 2013 Homeless Service Utilization Report from the State of Hawaii.
The Point in Time Count was conducted in January 2013 and included 34 unsheltered, and 11 sheltered veterans for the 45 total.
“We believe the numbers to be higher than that,” Johnson said. “Many veterans are staying with relatives or friends, and many are just a few checks away from being homeless.”
She said at the Kauai Community-Based Outpatient Clinic in Lihue, a procedure screens every patient for homelessness.
“Thirty-seven of VA patients have identified themselves as homeless since we started screening more than a year ago,” Johnson said. “Twenty more veterans expressed concern over their present housing situation.”
Johnson said the CBOC assesses veterans for eligibility for VA programs such as the HUD VASH program, and Grand-per-Diem programs on Oahu. Referrals are made to other community services on Kauai.
“We refer many veterans who are homeless, or at-risk for homelessness to Catholic Charities’ Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program, a VA-funded program,” she said. “SSVF is able to assist with funding housing needs such as security and utility deposits as well as provide assistance in funding affordable housing.”
The CBOC, 4485 Pahee Street in Lihue, is one of the sites where people are able to drop off hygiene supplies for the RSVP drive from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Other drop off sites include the Agency on Elderly Affairs at the Lihue Civic Center, Piikoi Building, Suite 330, and the Hanapepe Armory located at 1-3460 Kaumualii Highway.
“We’ll also be at the MLK celebration: ‘Keeping Peace,’ Jan. 20 from 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the Kukui Grove Center,” Delos Reyes said. “RSVP will have a table at the event.”
The Dept. of Veteran Affairs subscribes to the “Housing First” model based on the concept that a homeless individual’s primary need is to obtain stable housing with other issues being addressed once housing is obtained.
“The approach is a step away from the traditional idea of moving homeless individuals through a succession of levels from shelter to transitional housing to independent living,” Johnson said. “We work to move them directly from streets and shelters to their own apartments.”
Info: Rural Health Program, call 246-0497, ext. 2561; helping support veterans with housing, call 246-0497; hygiene drive, call Delos Reyes at 241-4479 or Melchor-Questin at 241-4478.
