Kokua Line: How many homeless are new to Oahu?
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Question: Regarding the big year-to-year jump in the number of people living unsheltered in January, do we know how many are recent arrivals? The mild winter might be a draw.
Answer: The 2024 Point in Time Count report released Wednesday does not include information about how long the homeless people surveyed have lived on Oahu. That question is not required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which mandates the one-night census of homeless populations across the country to determine funding and shape policies intended to improve their situations.
"We do not have that currently in the report because we want to do a special focus on that to see where people are coming from or how long they have been on the island, so that will be coming up shortly," Laura Thielen, executive director of Partners in Care, the Honolulu nonprofit organization that coordinates the Point in Time Count on Oahu, said Wednesday during an online session outlining this year's report.
Another PIC staffer said during the session that how long a homeless person has lived on Oahu is a voluntary question asked when the person is enrolled in the Homeless Management Information System, a countywide database designed to capture client-level information to make homeless services more effective and efficient. HMIS data could be analyzed to shed light on the issue, he said.
Thielen did not immediately return a phone call or email Thursday seeking more information, including about when the subreport with data on duration of residence would be issued.
The 2024 Point in Time Count, which was conducted Jan. 23, asking people where they had slept the night before, found 4,494 homeless people on Oahu, of whom 62% were unsheltered, staying on the streets or other places not meant for human habitation, and 38% were sheltered, staying in emergency shelters, transitional housing or Vet Safe Haven, the report said. The unsheltered count rose 17% from the year before, while the sheltered count was up 4%.
Since 2015 the percentage of Oahu's PITC homeless population that is unsheltered has increased steadily (to 62% from 40%), while the percentage that is sheltered has decreased (to 38% from 60%), the report said.
Find links to the full report and a video recording of the information session at .
Q: What are Hawaii's statistics on pedestrian fatalities?
A: "There were 132 pedestrian fatalities and 459 serious injuries from 2019 through 2023, using preliminary data for 2023. Pedestrians aged 17 and younger or aged 65 and older were involved in 39 percent of pedestrian fatalities and 33 percent of pedestrian serious injuries. Overall, pedestrians accounted for 27 percent all traffic fatalities and 17 percent of all serious injuries during this period. All road users, including pedestrians, should be required to follow applicable traffic laws in order for the state to work towards the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries," according to state Department of Transportation testimony to the Legislature this session.
Auwe
The right lane is not for passing traffic! The right lane is for slower traffic that is going to exit the freeway. It's not a passing lane. These fast drivers who want to pass everybody had better be in the left lane, or they might get hit sneaking up on the right when somebody is trying to exit. — Experienced driver
Mahalo
Great thanks to the patient driver who assisted when I had trouble driving in the rain due to malfunctioning windshield wipers. This person instinctively drove slowly behind me with their hazard lights on until I safely exited. — J.N.
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Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
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