National

Homelessness in Hawaii is worst in nation, defying image of paradise

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ

Associated Press
Keioleen Helly, 3, stands inside her family’s sidewalk shelter in Honolulu in October 2015. The family was packing up belongings to take to a storage unit two days before the city planned to clear their block of the homeless encampment, hoping to get a ride to the storage unit from a volunteer.
Keioleen Helly, 3, stands inside her family’s sidewalk shelter in Honolulu in October 2015. The family was packing up belongings to take to a storage unit two days before the city planned to clear their block of the homeless encampment, hoping to get a ride to the storage unit from a volunteer. Cathy Bussewitz AP
HONOLULU

Homelessness in Hawaii has grown in recent years, leaving the state with 487 homeless per 100,000 people, the nation’s highest rate per capita, above New York and Nevada, according to federal statistics.

Since 2010, the rise has come even as the national rate has fallen.

The increase, driven by years of rising costs in the island chain, low wages and limited land, thrust the image of people sleeping on beaches alongside the state’s famed one of a relaxing tropical paradise.

Officials have tried to solve the problem. They’ve offered homeless services and banned sitting and lying on Waikiki’s sidewalks.

Scott Morishige, the state coordinator on homelessness, says the population of unsheltered families ballooned 46 percent from 2014 to 2015. Morishige says changes in public housing policy and mental health services contributed to the rise.

This story was originally published November 8, 2015 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Homelessness in Hawaii is worst in nation, defying image of paradise."

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