Residents at closing Kakaako homeless shelter have nowhere to go

By Cynthia Yip

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    HONOLULU (KITV) — The transfer of Kakaako Waterfront Park to the city is displacing a shelter for the homeless. And some of the people who care for the homeless at that location are upset a new permanent location has not yet been found.

The transfer of public lands from the state to the city was finalized on Nov. 1, 2019, including the Kakaako Waterfront Park where the shelter was located.

When the city of Honolulu took over Kakaako Waterfront Park, it gave the Family Assessment Center 18 months while the state found another location to relocate the Center.

The Homeless Shelter is now abandoned. The deadline was in November 2021, so the shelter had to move out.

“In the meantime, while they are looking for another location, the time frame has been so long, the facility is now vacant. So, we’re no longer helping families. While the city and county and the state are looking for alternatives,” said shelter volunteer John Fielding.

The City says a location in Waikiki has been identified as a temporary center.

“They can stay in this alternative Waikiki location for the interim until the find a long term home for as long as they need. The city has also identified a potential piece of property that the city manages through the department of land management, for a long term home for them,” Laura Thielen, Director of The City Parks & Recreation said.

“In the meantime, because the city and county are taking so long places like this go vacant when they can be maintained and keeping families off the streets and out of their cars,” Fielding added.

“There’s a law that prevents us from leasing public park lands to anyone because public park lands are for the public its in the public trust,” Thielen said.

The State Department of Human Services issued a statement on the closure:

“The Department of Human Services is actively working to transition the Family Assessment Center (FAC) from Kakaako to a new location.

DHS currently contracts Catholic Charities Hawaii to administer the FAC and has worked together with the provider to ensure that FAC staff maintain employment during the transition.

Discussions regarding transition to a new site involve ongoing negotiation with multiple parties, including the City & County of Honolulu Department of Community Services and the Hawaii Department of Health.

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