Program and Service Updates

The new homeless triage center is yet another example of how we continue to adapt and develop services to better address the needs of Oahu’s homeless residents. Read on to see how our programs quickly respond and ignite their motivation when clients decide to change their lives.

OUTREACH

Our outreach teams provide distinct services to unsheltered individuals and families while working together to canvas areas and respond to community referrals. General Outreach addresses basic needs such as shelter, clothing or food, while retrieving vital documents to establish identification needed to secure jobs and housing. Our Psychiatric Street Medicine team specialists find ways to initiate behavioral health treatment for chronic mentally ill individuals who have lost decisional capacity. Their efforts include petitioning for guardianship or court ordered treatment, and initiating long acting medication. Throughout our outreach services, building trust and understanding the challenges of homelessness are key to encouraging people to accept help.

CASE MANAGEMENT

Case Managers coach and motivate clients in various stages of readiness for change. The Homeless Intensive Case Management team specializes in helping homeless individuals who are often picked up by police for emergency mental health evaluations at the emergency department or are frequently arrested. Case managers interface regularly with Hawaii State Hospital, when clients are diverted, or the jail and courts when clients move through those systems. When stabilized, clients may transfer to longer-term case management services within IHS or with outside service providers.

EMERGENCY SHELTERS

Our emergency shelters provide a safe and welcoming environment for anyone in the community who finds themselves without a home. Some guests will stay only a night while others will stay for months while they work to get back on their feet. Guests may seek shelter on their own, while others are referred by the friends, family, emergency departments or police. Twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week, these shelters provide safety and respite from the streets, along with tangible support and aloha.

SPECIALTY SHELTERS

Specialty shelters are designed for individuals who need a short-term shelter solution to help as they overcome a specialized concern. IHS pioneered the medical respite home for homeless individuals in Hawaii seven years ago and now operates five “Tutu Bert” Medical Respite Homes that provide safe and supportive environments for people to receive home care. The Kalihi-Uka Recovery Homes are for homeless individuals referred by the hospital who are enrolled in outpatient substance abuse programs but need a clean and sober environment to sleep, and practice what they are learning in treatment and recover.

VETERANS

Veterans in a housing crisis are served and recognized for their service in our VAsponsored Veterans Engaged in Transition House and our continuum of services. Veterans serve veterans, forming close bonds, ensuring that whenever a veteran is ready to talk, someone is ready to listen. Being there around the clock is important, “because breakthroughs don’t happen during business hours.”

It takes many hands and programs working together to help guests overcome their homeless crisis, from case management to health services.

HEALTH SERVICES

The Health Services team provides urgent care, complex wound care, stabilization for chronic medical conditions with medication management and referral. Their services grew during the pandemic when we partnered with Project Vision Hawaii for COVID-testing, vaccination, and surveillance. Now that Kalihi- Palama Health Center has opened their new clinic in Iwilei, our health services team has shifted focus toward launching the ‘Imi Ola Piha Homeless Triage Center.

EMPLOYMENT SERVICES

Hele2Work Employment Services helped an average of seven people per week find new jobs this quarter – with 86 people returning to the workforce since January. For those not quite work-ready, the New Leaf pre-vocational training program prepares individuals with soft skills as well as core competency in building maintenance, janitorial, and/or landscaping. A new industry track will launch later this year with a focus on developing front- and back-ofthe-house restaurant skills.

Meals create opportunities to build connections with homeless individuals.

MEALS

A small but mighty team of staff and an army of volunteers are responsible for preparing and serving nearly 900 meals every day out of the certified IHS Kitchen. These meals help people to know they are not alone or forgotten. Meals make connections easier, and offers of help more likely to be accepted.

HOUSING

So far this year, 117 families facing eviction received homeless prevention assistance; 20 homeless households were housed through our Rapid Rehousing program; and an additional 26 chronically homeless households with disabilities moved into their own residence with help from our Permanent Housing and Housing First programs. Homeless households often need a period of stabilization after ending their homelessness. So, support continues for at least six months after they are housed to ensure a good start. Some may continue to receive supportive services for a lifetime, and we are committed to serving them as long as is needed.