Aloha Friends and Neighbors,

Last month, the Honolulu City Council honored North Shore’s own Moona Whyte for her achievements in the world of professional kitesurfing and wingfoiling. Not only did Moona become the first-ever GWA Wingfoil Wave Women World Champion last year, but she also brought home another world title from the 2023 GKA Kite Surf World Tour. Congratulations!

Partners in Care (PIC) conducted the Oʻahu Point in Time (PIT) count on the morning of Tuesday, January 23, 2024. The PIT count is a federally mandated census count across the United States, and it provides a snapshot of all those experiencing homelessness in our shelters, streets, beaches, cars, or other places not meant for human habitation. The PIT Count is vital for establishing federal funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as State, local, and private funding, to help end homelessness.

Hawaiʻi Health & Harm Reduction Center (HHHRC) helped to coordinate the count for Region 6 (Windward Mall through Kawela Bay) and Region 5 (Kawela Bay through Mokulēʻia, including Haleʻiwa). Sixteen volunteers, multiple community partners, and HHHRC staff started at 7 a.m. to engage and survey our unsheltered communities. They were also able to schedule followup appointments to meet with individuals to discuss housing support and other needs. Kunane Dreier, Director of Training & Program Development, said the count went smoothly. He shared that although it is always a challenge to look for unsheltered individuals in rural areas, HHHRC was able to increase engagement through the support of community partners.

In the past, community members have expressed to me their frustration that the count is just for one day, and their worries about potential undercounting and how that may affect federal funding. However, the PIT Count is only one measurement used to determine funding from HUD, and it is useful to help us to see broad trends in homelessness. Last year, the overall PIT Count found that homelessness on Oahu increased slightly to 4,028 individuals (up from 3,951 from 2022). We won’t know the results from this year’s count until the full report is released in mid-May.

With the closure of Achieve Zero, Kealahou West Oʻahu (KWO) was announced as the homeless outreach services provider for Regions 3 and 5. We look forward to working with KWO and our state partners to better respond to homelessness in the area. With that in mind, we hope to ensure that the upcoming budget reflects the City’s needs, including prioritizing homelessness, public safety, and the condition of our parks and other public infrastructure.

Finally, I want to provide a heads up that the Mayor will deliver his budget proposal to the City Council on March 1st. We welcome community feedback and ideas for projects or improvements in the district.

As always, please feel free to contact our office at mweyer@honolulu.gov or (808) 768-5002 to share your input or to let us know how we can assist. Thank you for your continued engagement, and mahalo for all you do to support a lively, friendly, and prosperous North Shore!