Hawaiians
make up 37.5% of
isle homeless

Caucasians dropped from
49.6 percent in 1992 to 29.6 percent
of total homeless, officials say

By Lori Tighe
Star-Bulletin

Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians have become the largest homeless ethnic group in the islands, according to state housing statistics.

Hawaiians now make up 37.5 percent of the homeless, while Caucasians, the No. 2 group, account for 29.6 percent, said Sandy Miyoshi, homeless programs administrator for the state.

That is a reversal from 1992, when Caucasians made up 49.6 percent of the state's homeless population and Hawaiians comprised 20.6 percent, according to the Native Hawaiian Data Book.

Asians, Filipinos and blacks each make up less than 10 percent of the homeless population, Miyoshi said.

"It's both surprising and not surprising to me," said Lulani McKenzie, president and chief executive officer of Alu Like, a nonprofit organization that offers 17 programs to native Hawaiians.

"On the one hand, native Hawaiians are the leading indicator of every other category: worst health, most incarcerated, most numbers on welfare," McKenzie said.

"On the other hand, most Hawaiians do have ohana they can team up with. It's very distressing. It obviously ties into the depressed economy."

Shifting demographics may help explain the change.

The most recent ethnic population breakdown shows that the number of Caucasians decreased by about 8,000 to 254,421 in 1996 from 1990, according to the Hawaii Health Surveillance. During the same time, the number of Hawaiians/part-Hawaiians increased about 32,000 to 237,128.

The number of homeless in Hawaii has expanded between 250 and 300 each year since 1994, as the state dollars to care for them have continued to shrink.

"I do think it's tied to the economy," said Lynn Maunakea, executive director of the Institute for Human Services Inc., the biggest homeless shelter in the state. "They can't afford rent if they lost their job."

There are also more homeless children. About 60 percent of the homeless population this year are adults, while 40 percent are children, Miyoshi said.

In 1992, homeless adults comprised 80 percent and children accounted for 20 percent, according to the Native Hawaiian Data Book.

In 1992, the state spent more than $3 million to care for 5,353 homeless people. This year, the state spent $2.8 million on 12,887 homeless people, Maunakea said.

The state also receives $1 million in federal money for the homeless.