LIHU‘E — Amid sky-high housing costs and the expiration of pandemic-era tenant protections, homelessness appears to be on the rise on Kaua‘i.
The Homeless Point In Time Count, released last week by Bridging the Gap, showed a 10 percent increase in one-day homelessness on island from January 2022 to January 2023, following a 5 percent increase in the prior year. From 2018, the earliest year the data was available, the number of homeless people recorded in the count had climbed 79 percent.
After several days of canvassing in January, a field team located 488 homeless people on Kaua‘i. That marked an increase of 44 from last year’s count.
One homeless advocate thinks the actual population is much larger.
Based on the size of the homeless group she assists at Ho‘omana Thrift Shop in Wailua, Rowena Contrades-Pangan estimated there are between 800 and 1,000 homeless people on Kaua‘i.
“These are local people born and raised on Kaua‘i,” said Contrades-Pangan. “They just got kicked out of their homes because they couldn’t pay their rent.”
The expiration of pandemic-era policies like the eviction moratorium and the Coronavirus Rental and Utility Assistance Program, which paid out more than $25 million to Kaua‘i tenants and landlords, likely contributed to the increase.
Last year, County Housing Agency Director Adam Roversi described both policies as helpful in stemming a larger increase in homelessness during the pandemic. The moratorium expired in August 2021, while the CRUA program was significantly scaled back in December 2022.
Meanwhile, housing costs have remained among the highest in the nation, with the median sales price climbing to $1,180,000 in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2022, from $1,100,000 in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2021.
A bright spot in the Point In Time data is that more Kaua‘i homeless have been able to make their way into shelters. The number of sheltered homeless rose from 40 in 2022 to 58 in 2023, likely a result of loosening restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic, which opened up more shelter beds. The results also showed a decline in the number of homeless veterans, as that population decreased from 33 in 2022 to 19 in 2023.
Most of the state’s homeless are long-term Hawai‘i residents, with 2021 data showing that 63 percent of the population lived in the state for more than 20 years and less than 1 percent had lived here for less than a year.
To help the homeless community, Contrades-Pangan suggested opening neighborhood centers during bad storms and removing the 60-day limit on camping permits so they don’t need to frequently relocate.
“As long as you’re paying for the permit, what the heck is the problem?” she asked.
Kaua‘i’s 10 percent increase in homelessness mirrors an increase throughout the major neighbor islands. On Kaua‘i, Maui, and Hawai‘i Island, the total one-day homelessness increased from 2,022 persons in 2022 to 2,195 in 2023 (up 9 percent).
Hawai‘i Island saw a more extreme increase in homelessness at 20 percent, while Maui’s homeless population remained steady.
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Guthrie Scrimgeour, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-0329 or gscrimgeour@thegardenisland.com.
