HONOLULU — A church on Oahu has constructed a small village of igloo-like shelters to provide temporary housing to families who are homeless.
The First Assembly of God Church in Kaneohe unveiled the 12 white dome structures this week after working on the project for two years, Hawaii News Now reported Wednesday.
Nine of the igloos on the church’s property will house families, one will house a resident manager and two hold the shared restroom facilities.
“This is a great day to see the domes finally delivered and our baby being delivered,” Senior Pastor Klayton Ko said. “This is literally a dream come true.”
The church plans to house single mothers and their children, allowing the families to stay up to nine months, Ko said. During their stay, the church will provide services to help equip residents with skills to transition into independent living accommodations.
“I think people who move in will feel a sense of value, dignity and ohana,” Ko said.
Each family will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and options will be discussed if residents need to change their length of their stays, church officials said.
The church started the process to build the domes two years, hiring a design firm to navigate the processes for acquiring zoning and construction permits.
“This has been a vision that we received over two years ago,” Ko said. “Our whole intention was to provide a solution for the homeless crisis.”
The first family is expected to move in next month.
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Information from: KGMB-TV, http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/
