HANAPEPE — Grace Meek of Project Vision said they left the HieHie Mobile Shower at home Thursday during coordinated outreach services being offered to the homeless community at Salt Pond Beach Park.
“They didn’t want the showers here,” Meeks said. “They built their own. But that can’t stop us. We’re here with other services like the free reading glasses and personal hygiene kits that we’re not waiting at the tables for people. We’re taking it into the camp for people who really need the service.”
Project Vision is one of the vendors, including Child &Family Service, state Department of Education, county Agency on Elderly Affairs, Ho‘ola Lahui, Kaua‘i Economic Opportunity, Malama Pono Health Services and Women In Need coordinated by the County Housing Agency to provide services for those campers who are being transitioned out of the Shelter In Place program at the park.
One resident of the Shelter In Place site sat quietly outside his tent, chatting with another resident who had just scored some children’s toys and a bag of food from the DOE table.
“I’m going out,” he said. “Everything is simple: whatever I can get on The Kaua‘i Bus. They’re setting something up for me from June 7. It’s in Lihu‘e. I need to have surgery done, and you can’t go through that living like this.”
Housing and food needs were high on the priority lists of residents needs as the Women In Need table was busy from the start with people placing their names on wait lists. The Child &Family Service table was equally busy with people getting information and applying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps).
“We had a lady inquiring about home-schooling her children because she doesn’t know where she’ll be when school starts in August,” said LaPlane Valmoja of the DOE. “But she needs to register for school because we need to know in which district she’ll be in.”
With the Salt Pond Shelter In Place site being the last of the facilities to close, scheduled for June 30, Meek was concerned about the future of the mobile hot showers, especially in light of the Salt Pond residents not wanting that service that was dedicated just weeks ago.
Meek said the HieHie Mobile Showers has been averaging eight showers at an event, and 12 events taking place since the hot showers vehicle was placed into service.
The Kaua‘i Mobile Health Services Team has delivered 167 hot showers to verified houseless individuals in its first 20 official shower events, including the final day of the Lydgate Park Shelter In Place site.
“With the help of the Agency on Elderly Affairs and the Kaua‘i RSVP, we have assembled more than 225 houseless hygiene kits, and distributed more than 150 of those kits,” Meek said as she wheeled carts of hygiene kits into the encampment with Project Vision’s Darnell Costales. “We’re working on developing keiki hygiene kits as well.”
Pending confirmation and final contracts, Meek said they are looking at the Mobile Hot Showers being at The Salvation Army Lihu‘e Corps on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., The Salvation Army Hanapepe Corps on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and at the Westside Christian Center with Pastor Darryl and Elizabeth Kua in Kekaha on Thursdays from 3 to 6 p.m.
“There will be hot food served at all of these sites,” Meek said. “Everything is pending the contracts being signed, so the first hot showers outside of the Shelter In Place won’t happen until after June 15.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
