Statewide Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions (OHHS)

The Governor’s Coordinator on Homelessness and the Hawai’i Interagency Council on Homelessness (HICH) regularly review homeless population trends as one performance measure to evaluate the effectiveness of the State’s strategic plan and framework.

Between 2017 and 2018, the number of homeless individuals in Hawai’i decreased by 690 individuals (9.6%).  The decrease was one of the largest numeric decreases in homeless population in the country, only exceeded by decreases in California, Florida, and Michigan.

This recent decrease is the second consecutive decrease in homelessness in Hawai’i – representing an overall 18% reduction since 2016.  In addition to declines in statewide homelessness, the City and County of Honolulu and the counties of Hawai’i, Kaua’i, and Maui each experienced decreases in their respective homeless populations between 2016 and 2018:

• 9% reduction in the City and County of Honolulu.
• 38% reduction in the County of Hawai’i.
• 34% reduction in the County of Kaua’i.
• 24% reduction in the County of Maui.

These decreases in homelessness came after seven years of steady increases in homelessness statewide as illustrated in the chart below.