Minda Golez knew in early March. As the Institute for Human Services director of housing and employment, she’d seen these warning signs before, when Aloha Airlines ceased operations and the economy collapsed in 2008. “Back then, the calls started flooding in, people suddenly out of work and no idea what to do next,” she says. “People had […]
Most veterans serve their country honorably and then return home, as Rick did, to rebuild a life in the community. He’d served in Vietnam and then settled in Hawaiʻi with his wife. Their marriage crumbled under the weight of unhealed wounds, memories of war and depression, leaving Rick alone and living paycheck to paycheck. When
Vaughn was in his senior year at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa—a straight-A dean’s list student on his way to a degree in social work—when a car accident left him with a badly broken jaw and opioid prescriptions for the pain. What was supposed to help him heal became an addiction. “I walked away
Families with children make up the largest segment of Hawaii’s homeless population as they typically do across the nation. And half of those children are under the age of 5. These families struggle to find their way in our communities and are often not as visible as the people we see on the streets; But they’re
Hot meals sustain us—whether it’s soup when we’re sick or dinner around the family table or a meal shared with friends. It’s more than good food. It’s nourishment for the soul, the time for most of us to connect, reflect or make plans for what’s next. Romeo, Maximus and Xicor at one of the shelters
It’s never just one thing. It’s never just one person. “The answer is so much more than housing. It goes deep. We have to look beyond simply finding a home.” -Connie Mitchell, The Institute for Human Services “There was this gentleman, homeless and not working because of his health needs,” recalls Connie Mitchell, executive director
