Star-Advertiser special coverage on homelessness in Hawaii.
Domestic violence was the underlying reason that 3 percent of guests at the Institute for Human Services sought shelter during the past year and was the basis of medical concerns reported by 5 percent of the population. Read more
Momi Lopes sat at a picnic table outside of her new home at Weinberg Village in Waimanalo playing with her 9-month-old son, Kane, who until this day had never known life outside of a homeless shelter. Read more
The journey of the Lopes family —from addiction, unemployment, separation and homelessness to a transitional home in Weinberg Village in Waimanalo — illustrates that with a lot of work and commitment, goals are attainable. Read more
As a young worker growing up in the Marshall Islands, Ruby Jetnil dreamed of retiring to a beach paradise where she could spend her days sipping soda and basking in the sun. Read more
Alyssa Miller, 23, croons an impromptu lullaby to her 9-month-old baby, Kelsey, before the nightly lights out at the Institute for Human Services Family Shelter. Miller expected to find a paradise in Hawaii when she traveled here to try to reconcile with her military ex-husband. Read more
Michael Dicks, 61, lies slumped along a stretch of rock wall, seemingly oblivious to the police officers and emergency medical technicians who are working with another homeless man nearby at the River Street end of Aala Park. Read more
Shelters in Hawaii often have room for more residents, but persuading the chronically homeless to take advantage of those openings can be a tough sell. Mainlanders, meanwhile, are filling more shelter beds as some become overwhelmed by Hawaii's high costs and others use shelters as their go-to housing option. Read more
I awake to see a woman waving a flashlight in my face. It's about 1 a.m. and I seem to be in some kind of a warehouse. It's sweltering hot and I'm sleeping on a plastic-coated mattress. It smells like dirty diapers, sweat and Vicks VapoRub. Read more
