Maui homeless numbers continue to decline | News, Sports, Jobs

A van is seen parked along the roadway in Kealia Tuesday afternoon. A report shows that Maui County saw a drop of homeless individuals from 741 in 2022 to 704 in January. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

The number of homeless people in Maui County continues on a downward trend, with overall homelessness numbers down by 5 percent according to results of this year’s Homeless Point In Time Count which was released on Tuesday.

As overall, homelessness in Maui County went down, so did unsheltered homelessness which decreased by 11 percent, but sheltered homelessness increased by 4 percent — the sheltered count reflects a movement of persons from unsheltered to sheltered, according to the report.

On Maui, there were a total of 704 homeless individuals, 387 unsheltered, and 317 sheltered. Last year, there were 741 homeless individuals, 436 unsheltered, and 305 sheltered.

The year 2016 had the highest rates of homelessness at 1,144 people on Maui, 484 unsheltered and 660 sheltered.

The report attributes the decline over the years to local efforts to connect individuals and families to shelters, emergency housing opportunities and other resources.

Every January, counties across the nation carry out the Homeless Point In Time Count in their respective jurisdictions. The PIT Count is an annual survey of people experiencing homelessness on a given night. 

Bridging the Gap, which represents Hawaii County, Maui County and Kauai County, is the Neighbor Island’s Continuum of Care that carries out the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s request for data. 

“The goal of the report is to inform the community at large, elected officials, government agencies, and other stakeholders of the immediate homeless situation on the neighbor islands,” according to Bridging the Gap.

Canvassing efforts on Maui occurred between Jan. 23 and Jan. 28. Participants were asked, “where did you sleep this past Sunday, January 22?” to understand if individuals were living in places not meant for human habitation on the night of the count, such as on the street or in a car. 

Among the 704 homeless on Maui in the January report, 429 were single individuals and 275 were family individuals, including 129 adults and 146 children. 

Among them, 244 have a mental health disability, 223 were considered chronically homeless, 196 have a substance abuse disability, and 22 are military veterans. 

Broken down by region, Central Maui had the highest number of homeless at 325. There were also 170 sheltered and 155 unsheltered. 

Total homelessness in Lahaina dropped slightly from 250 people counted in 2022 to 239 counted in January.

There were 113 unsheltered people, a drop from the 157 in 2022, as the number of sheltered individuals had an uptick from 93 in 2022 to 126 in January. 

Upcountry had 56 homeless people and 35 unsheltered individuals, less than last year when there were 71 homeless and 56 unsheltered, leading to a slight increase in sheltered folks at 21 from the 15 counted in 2022. 

* Staff Writer Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.

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