Homeless shelter use up 19%
By Mary Vorsino
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
|
||
 |
|
|
Some 6,733 people were in homeless shelters statewide in 2007, a 19 percent increase over the year before that's largely attributed to more shelters opening around the state, according to a new report designed to give service providers a big-picture look at the clients they're helping.
The report, which provides demographic information on homeless people statewide living in shelters or receiving outreach services, comes as providers are bracing for an increase in homelessness due to the worsening economy.
"We all know we're going to have an increase in homelessness," said Holly Holowach, chairwoman of Partners in Care, a consortium of homeless providers. "The economic crisis is looming."
The University of Hawai'i report, released yesterday at the Homeless Awareness Conference in Waikiki, shows that a massive, multimillion-dollar state effort over the last five years to address the homeless crisis appears at the least to be getting more people off the streets.
The state has wholly or partially funded the opening of several new shelters, including several on the Wai'anae Coast and on the Neighbor Islands.
On O'ahu, the new shelters have helped thousands of people move from beaches and parks in hopes of transitioning into a long-term home. In fiscal year 2007, about 5,075 people were living in homeless shelters on O'ahu.
STUDY DATA
The figure is up from 3,857 in fiscal year 2005.
Though the study does not provide an indication of whether the homeless population is growing because of the floundering financial markets — since the figures used in the report go through fiscal year 2007 — it does give providers an idea of who their clients are and what specialized services they might need.
The study shows:
Meanwhile, the report also provides new data on how long homeless households stay in shelters. The study finds that about half of those in shelters leave within three months and only 6 percent stay for 18 months or more.
Data on where homeless go after they leave shelters was inconclusive. About 20 percent of emergency shelter clients moved into housing of their own in fiscal year 2007.
But information on where about 63 percent of those who left emergency shelters that year went was not available.
DESIGNED TO HELP
Of those in transitional shelters, meant to be a stepping stone between emergency shelters and long-term housing, about 50 percent said they moved into long-term housing in fiscal year 2007, while 15 percent moved in with friends or relatives.
The report is designed in part to help agencies better direct their homeless services — and dollars — at a time when nonprofits are seeing increased need and dwindling donations, grants and appropriations because of the economic downturn.
"If we know that more people are going to need it (shelter), we better have the resources to serve them," said Sarah Yuan, one of the report's authors.
The study also shows the number of homeless getting outreach services is up. Statewide, some 5,981 unsheltered homeless got outreach services in fiscal year 2007, an increase of 67 percent from fiscal year 2005.
At the conference yesterday, providers welcomed the report as a way to track how efforts to address homelessness are taking people off the streets.
Many also said they hoped the report would highlight the diversity of the homeless, who range from families down on their luck to people with mental health issues.
"Homelessness is everywhere. It's not just in Waikiki," said Jennifer Arant, human resources coordinator for the Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance.
Several homeless or formerly homeless people at the conference said they believe now is the time to spend more on homeless programs — not less. Glenn Fuentes, 46, said he was homeless in Kailua for a decade before he was able to enter a substance abuse program and transition into long-term housing.
"It's possible," he said, "to transition back into life."
Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.
• • •
