LIHU‘E — Amid sky-high housing costs and the expiration of pandemic-era tenant protections, homelessness appears to be on the rise on Kaua‘i.
The Homeless Point In Time Count, released last week by Bridging the Gap, showed a 10 percent increase in one-day homelessness on island from January 2022 to January 2023, following a 5 percent increase in the prior year. From 2018, the earliest year the data was available, the number of homeless people recorded in the count had climbed 79 percent.
After several days of canvassing in January, a field team located 488 homeless people on Kaua‘i. That marked an increase of 44 from last year’s count.
One homeless advocate thinks the actual population is much larger.
Based on the size of the homeless group she assists at Ho‘omana Thrift Shop in Wailua, Rowena Contrades-Pangan estimated there are between 800 and 1,000 homeless people on Kaua‘i.
“These are local people born and raised on Kaua‘i,” said Contrades-Pangan. “They just got kicked out of their homes because they couldn’t pay their rent.”
The expiration of pandemic-era policies like the eviction moratorium and the Coronavirus Rental and Utility Assistance Program, which paid out more than $25 million to Kaua‘i tenants and landlords, likely contributed to the increase.
Last year, County Housing Agency Director Adam Roversi described both policies as helpful in stemming a larger increase in homelessness during the pandemic. The moratorium expired in August 2021, while the CRUA program was significantly scaled back in December 2022.
Meanwhile, housing costs have remained among the highest in the nation, with the median sales price climbing to $1,180,000 in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2022, from $1,100,000 in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2021.
A bright spot in the Point In Time data is that more Kaua‘i homeless have been able to make their way into shelters. The number of sheltered homeless rose from 40 in 2022 to 58 in 2023, likely a result of loosening restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic, which opened up more shelter beds. The results also showed a decline in the number of homeless veterans, as that population decreased from 33 in 2022 to 19 in 2023.
Most of the state’s homeless are long-term Hawai‘i residents, with 2021 data showing that 63 percent of the population lived in the state for more than 20 years and less than 1 percent had lived here for less than a year.
To help the homeless community, Contrades-Pangan suggested opening neighborhood centers during bad storms and removing the 60-day limit on camping permits so they don’t need to frequently relocate.
“As long as you’re paying for the permit, what the heck is the problem?” she asked.
Kaua‘i’s 10 percent increase in homelessness mirrors an increase throughout the major neighbor islands. On Kaua‘i, Maui, and Hawai‘i Island, the total one-day homelessness increased from 2,022 persons in 2022 to 2,195 in 2023 (up 9 percent).
Hawai‘i Island saw a more extreme increase in homelessness at 20 percent, while Maui’s homeless population remained steady.
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Guthrie Scrimgeour, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-0329 or gscrimgeour@thegardenisland.com.
What needs to be done? Most, not all, need mental health help. They need to be put in a facility where they can either get clean off drugs or drink, or get the help they need with whatever psychosis they have. Then, put them in housing for a limited time. If they don’t find work at that time, and are found on the streets, put them in jail. We spend so much money that just goes down the drain on the homeless. We need to get a bit tougher.
The next big disease outbreak in Kauai isn’t going to be covid or the flu. It will be cholera due to fecal contamination of waterways by the homeless. Don’t believe me? Park at the entrance to Skydive Kauai, right where the boulders have been set up to block access. Take a good whiff when you get out of your car. The nearby bushes are being used as a toilet by the homeless who camp out there in their in their trucks overnight. Heavy rains are going to wash all of that stuff into the ocean just 50 feet away. Where is the Kauai County Health Department? Don’t these guys have any enforcement powers? Don’t they ever inspect these homeless sites? Seriously, they can’t all be someone’s incompetant nephew who got hired purely because he’s family.
It isn’t hard to fix homelessness. Creating a large number of new houses won’t help much until you address some major causes.
1) increase taxes for off-island ownership of non-primary dwellings or corporate ownership of dwellings outside of visitor destination areas
2) Check for gainful employment and/or accomodations for entry to deter the “I want to move to Hawaii on a budget” crowd and homeless transfers
3) Streamline ADU approval and make premade plans distributable to residents with homestead status for their home here.
The remainder will be people who choose the homeless life which you can’t change.