Homeless

Executive Director of Residential Youth Services and Empowerment, or RYSE, spoke to HPR's Maddie Bender about how the organization will be using a $2.5 million gift to support homeless youth on Oʻahu.

Family Promise of Hawaiʻi, an organization that serves families experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, has seen the number of calls for assistance significantly increase over the last few months.

Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center's street medicine program is growing to address the need for health care services for people experiencing homelessness.

Maui community members are calling for changes to homeless encampment sweeps. Maui County lawmakers this week shelved Bill 111, which proposed a more "empathetic" approach to relocating homeless individuals in encampments on county land.

The Houseless Outreach and Medical Education project, also known as the Hawaiʻi H.O.M.E project, hit 20 years of providing free health care for unhoused people across Oʻahu.

The Conversation's Catherine Cruz observed a count of individuals experiencing homelessness throughout Waikīkī.

Gov. Josh Green spoke to The Conversation on Thursday morning about this emergency situation, vaccine exemptions in schools, and the resignation of John Mizuno, who led the state's homelessness initiatives.

With funding set to run out at the end of 2026, Hawaiʻi lawmakers are considering a bill that would make the project permanent. To learn more, The Conversation sat down with representatives from The Institute for Human Services.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi feels a sense of urgency in his second term and this new year to tackle the state's homeless and housing crisis. The Conversation spoke with Blangiardi on Wednesday morning about the new addition to his cabinet, plus efforts to finalize the Oʻahu landfill site.

House Bill 1486 states that loitering within 20 feet of a bus stop will be considered a disorderly conduct offense. The bill allows law enforcement officers to immediately remove anyone who violates this order.