Question: Recently I witnessed police interacting with a homeless person who appeared to be very, very old. They weren’t being mean to her; they were trying to help. The reason I noticed was because of how old she looked, and it made me wonder how many homeless are senior citizens.
Answer: An annual census of homeless people says 485 of 4,494 people counted on Oahu in January were age 60 or older, an improvement from 516 people in that age group counted in January 2023. Neither the overall 2024 Point in Time Count nor its kupuna subreport further specified that age range, but anecdotally we’ve heard from readers trying to assist homeless people in their 80s. The nonprofit organization Partners in Care, which coordinates the PITC, has a page on its website listing help for homeless people of any age; go to partnersincareoahu.org and click on “Get Help” at the top of the page.
Of the 485 older people known to be homeless on Oahu the night of Jan. 22, 52%, or 253 people, were unsheltered, meaning they were sleeping in places not meant for human habitation, including “streets, parks, alleys, parts of the highway system, transportation depots, all night commercial establishments (e.g., movie theaters, laundromats, restaurants), abandoned buildings, building roofs or stairwells, caves, campgrounds, vehicles, and other similar places,” according to the PITC’s definitions.
The 48% who were sheltered (232 people) were sleeping in emergency shelters, transitional housing or safe havens for veterans, the report said.
Older homeless people were more likely than Oahu’s overall homeless population to have disabling conditions and to be chronically homeless, with more than 75% of unsheltered kupuna homeless for more than a year, the subreport said. It said that 72% of the sheltered homeless kupuna and 71% of the unsheltered kupuna had one or more disabling conditions.
“The inability to pay rent (25%), loss of money or income source (20%), and job loss (19%) were the most commonly reported causes that led to homelessness” in this age group, the subreport said.
Black and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander people age 60 and older were “vastly over-represented” in Oahu’s homeless population, compared with their numbers in the island’s overall population, it said.
You can read the full reports, for this and previous years, on the Partners in Care website.
Kaneohe repaving
Kamehameha Highway repaving at Likelike Highway continues this week in Kaneohe across from Servco Toyota, according to the state Department of Transportation. Work hours are scheduled to be from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This work will cause lane closures, contra-flows and detours in certain areas. For details, see 808ne.ws/4eqQLTm on the state DOT website, which says the Kamehameha Highway paving project between Pali and Likelike highways ends at the state right of way on Kamehameha Highway fronting Servco Toyota. The current segment of the project is estimated to wrap up Oct. 8.
Auwe
I am so sick of negative people who hurt small businesses by airing petty complaints on social media. Stop putting local businesses on blast over nothing! — Reader
Mahalo
My husband and I would like to extend a big mahalo to Honolulu paramedic “M,” who sprang into action when my husband had a medical emergency on our flight home from Seattle. She was awesome, along with the flight crew on Alaska Airlines. We cannot thank them enough for all that they did for us. May they be blessed in all that they do. Special people for sure! — Grateful and thankful, the Fonteses
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
