Who has a home on Oʻahu, who doesn't, and what is being done about it.

What the numbers say, where they come from and what they leave out.

Counts & data

Oʻahu's 2026 count

4,539 people counted: a 20% drop outside, a 35% rise in shelters and more families.

Counts & data

How the Point-in-Time count works

Who runs Oʻahu's one-night count, how people are counted, and the limits of a snapshot.

Counts & data

Rent burden in Honolulu

Median gross rent of $2,054 and almost half of renters paying 35% or more of income.

Income limits, vouchers, kauhale villages, Housing First and the State's emergency powers.

Housing & policy

Kauhale explained

918 beds at 24 sites: how the State's tiny-home villages work and what happens to residents.

Housing & policy

What "affordable" means

AMI, the City's 2026 income limits and rent caps, and who affordable housing leaves out.

Housing & policy

Section 8 vouchers on Oʻahu

Who runs vouchers on Oʻahu, what tenants pay, the waitlist lottery and the anti-discrimination law.

How Oʻahu's system actually works for someone who needs a bed, a caseworker or a home.

Getting help

Finding shelter on Oʻahu

Shelters for adults, families, youth, veterans and pets, and how outreach and HONU help people in.

Getting help

Coordinated entry on Oʻahu

"No wrong door": how assessment, prioritization and case conferencing lead to housing referrals.

Getting help

CORE and street outreach

EMTs and community health workers on non-violent calls: what CORE does and how to reach it.

Sidewalks and parks, belongings, court rulings, tenants and students.

Rights & public space

The Grants Pass ruling

What the 2024 Supreme Court decision on camping bans changed in Hawaiʻi, and what it did not.

Rights & public space

Belongings and sweeps

Notice, impoundment, storage and recovery: the city rules that govern belongings on public property.

Rights & public space

Students without stable housing

About 4,800 students a year: who qualifies, the right to stay in school and how to get help.

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  Worried about someone on the street? When to call 911, 988 or 311 on Oʻahu

  A practical guide for Oʻahu residents who are concerned about a person living outside: how to tell an emergency from a non-emergency, which number to call, how to approach someone respectfully, and what happens after you call.

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  How to help well: giving, volunteering and civic action on Oʻahu

  Practical, respectful ways for Oʻahu residents to help people experiencing homelessness: what kinds of donations help most, how to volunteer, including for the Point-in-Time count, and how to take part in the decisions that shape housing policy.

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  Students without stable housing in Hawaiʻi: rights under the McKinney-Vento Act

  Hawaiʻi public schools identify about 4,800 school-aged students experiencing homelessness each year, most of them doubled up with other families. Who counts as homeless for schools, the rights to enroll, stay in the same school and get transportation, and how to reach a school liaison.

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  Behind on rent in Hawaiʻi: the ten-day notice and free eviction mediation

  Since February 5, 2026, Hawaiʻi landlords must give tenants ten calendar days' notice for unpaid rent and send it to a free mediation center. How Act 278 (2025) works, the deadlines that matter, and what tenants and landlords should do.

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  Sidewalks, parks and sit-lie rules in Honolulu: a plain-language guide

  Honolulu regulates who may sit, lie, sleep or keep belongings in public places through sit-lie bans, park closure hours, a lodging ordinance and sidewalk obstruction rules. Where they came from, what they cover and the debate around them.

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  Belongings and sweeps in Honolulu: the stored property and sidewalk nuisance ordinances

  What Honolulu's stored property ordinance and sidewalk nuisance ordinance allow, the notice and storage rules, what court cases and a 2016 settlement require, and practical steps to protect and recover belongings.

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  The Grants Pass ruling and Hawaiʻi: what the Supreme Court changed about camping laws

  In City of Grants Pass v. Johnson (2024), the U.S. Supreme Court held that enforcing public camping bans is not cruel and unusual punishment, overturning the Ninth Circuit rule that applied in Hawaiʻi. What the decision says, what it left open, and which protections still apply on Oʻahu.

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  Medicaid housing supports in Hawaiʻi: Community Integration Services (CIS+) explained

  Hawaiʻi's Medicaid program can pay for help finding and keeping housing for members with serious health needs who are homeless or at risk. Who qualifies for Community Integration Services, what they include, what they do not cover, and how to ask for them.

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  CORE and street outreach in Honolulu: who responds, and how

  Honolulu's CORE program sends EMTs and community health workers, not police, to non-violent calls about people living outside. What it does, how to request it, what its early data showed, and why the city auditor could not complete an audit in 2026.

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  Finding shelter on Oʻahu: the kinds of shelter and the ways in

  A practical guide to emergency shelter on Oʻahu: which shelters serve single adults, families, couples, youth, veterans and people with pets, how outreach and the HONU navigation program connect people, and what to expect on arrival.

• Counts & dataPoint-in-Time counts, Census rent figures and what the numbers can and cannot tell us about Oʻahu.
• Housing & policyAffordable housing rules, vouchers, kauhale, Housing First and the state and city policies behind them.
• Getting helpHow Oʻahu's homeless services system works: coordinated entry, shelters, outreach and health coverage.
• Rights & public spaceSidewalk and park rules, property sweeps, court rulings, eviction protections and students' rights.
• How to helpPractical ways for neighbors to help: giving well, volunteering and knowing whom to call.