LIHU‘E — “Our goal is 20 showers,” said Darnell Costales of Project Vision Hawai‘i, one of the workers at the Hiehie Mobile Hot Shower unit parked at The Salvation Army Lihu‘e Corps on Hardy Street Tuesday.
Project Vision and Hiehie partnered with several groups to anchor a weekly schedule of shower appearances following the close of the county’s Shelter-In-Place sites across the island.
“We’re with The Salvation Army Lihu‘e Corps on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” Costales said. “In addition to the shower, The Salvation Army provides a free, hot meal. We also provide towels and soap.”
The Hiehie unit moves to The Salvation Army Hanapepe Corps on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., where hot meals are also provided.
Thursdays, the Hiehie mobile shower moves to the Westside Christian Center Assembly of God in Kekaha from 3 to 6 p.m., where hot meals are also provided.
Grace Meek of Project Vision Hawai‘i said the outreach provided by the Rev. Darryl Kua and Liz Kua is outstanding because Darryl Kua goes out driving into the community to provide rides to people needing the services of the mobile hot showers.
“People need to know this,” Costales said. “We have a website, hotshowerskauai.org, but a lot of the houseless and needy community don’t have access to computers and the electronic platform. They rely on the local newspaper for information.”
The Hiehie mobile shower program started with Project Vision Hawai‘i in 2018, and on Kaua‘i the unit, acquired in a partnership with Project Vision Hawai‘i and the County Housing Agency, was blessed in April, doing its duty at the Shelter-In-Place sites around the island. When the final site shut down earlier this year, Meek set out to establish a weekly schedule of stops so people needing the service would have some continuity.
“When we were servicing the Shelter-In-Place sites, we would do about 15 showers a week,” Costales said. “When the sites shut down, that number dropped to half the amount. We can handle up to 20 showers on each stop. That’s our goal.”
She also noted that in addition to providing hot showers, the Hiehie unit will begin carrying vision-screening kits because of the need raised during a stop in Hanapepe.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
