HHHRC led two Oahu districts for this year’s Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. We joined allied organizations and community supporters on March 10th at 6 AM at The ARTS at Marks Garage in downtown Honolulu and in Hau'ula. The objective was to do a person-by-person count of the island’s unsheltered homeless with an app-based questionnaire that recorded demographic information for each person encountered. Survey participants received a care package that included personal hygiene items.
The PIT Count is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and directly impacts the level of federal funding that the state receives to provide homelessness services. Last year’s count was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year’s count was delayed due to the Omicron variant. Last year, HHHRC began providing homeless outreach and housing navigation services in urban Honolulu and the upper Windward Coast, including North Shore.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser featured an above-the-fold story in Section B and an online photo gallery on that morning’s count. HHHRC Executive Director Heather Lusk and Dr. Christina Wang were among those quoted in the article.
“Mahalo to all those who woke up early and helped us take a vivid snapshot of our communities’ unsheltered homeless population. This data is vital to our work in addressing their ongoing needs in the coming year. We are also grateful to The ARTS at Mark’s for providing a large and aesthetically appealing venue to host this year’s count,” said Lusk.
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