The number of people experiencing homelessness in 91直播 County dropped slightly over the past two years, according to data released Wednesday by a group of social service agencies.
At a press conference in Kailua-Kona, Bridging the Gap 91直播 — a coalition dedicated to ending homelessness on the neighbor islands — unveiled the 2026 91直播less Point in Time Count data from surveys conducted in late January.
During the surveys, volunteers and outreach workers canvassed across the island locating residents staying in emergency shelters or transitional housing (sheltered), and in places “not meant for human habitation” like cars, parks, beaches, sidewalks and remote areas (unsheltered). They asked everyone they encountered the same question: “Where did you sleep on the night of January 25, 2026?”
This annual one-night “snapshot” is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for organizations receiving federal homeless assistance grants.
According to the data published Wednesday, the total count of homeless individuals across the island decreased by 3% from 718 people in 2024 to 696 people in 2026. Data is unavailable for 2025 because an unsheltered Point in Time Count wasn’t conducted that year due to “resource constraints.”
Of those 696 people, 467 were unsheltered — an 11% decrease from the 527 unsheltered people tallied in 2024. Added to this were 229 sheltered individuals — a 20% increase from the 191 sheltered people counted in 2024, implying that more people sleeping out in the open were finding access to shelters.
The trend for homeless families was equally encouraging: a decrease of 20% from 41 families in 2024 to 33 families in 2026. At the same time, homeless veterans trended the other way: an increase of 16% from 38 people in 2024 to 44 people in 2026.
Brandee Menino is the chair of Bridging the Gap and the CEO of HOPE Services 91直播 — a major recipient of county funding for homeless outreach efforts. Menino largely credits the decrease in homelessness numbers since 2024 to the county’s awarding of grants to local nonprofits like HOPE.
Since 2022, the 91直播 County Council has earmarked more than $33 million in 91直播lessness and Housing Fund grants through the Office of Housing and Community Development to a variety of projects combating the problem.
“What’s driving the decrease is the investment that the county has made over the last three years,” she said. “The strategies of coordinated outreach, street medicine, emergency shelter and housing opportunities for people experiencing homelessness. The county is investing in the right strategies, and that’s why we see that steady decline even after two years of when we did the last count.”
When asked what she sees as the biggest culprit behind homelessness on 91直播 Island, she is quick to answer: the price of housing — a barrier that’s significantly lessened by providing housing vouchers.
“That is the main driver,” she said. “The housing costs — people can’t afford to live in the housing that’s available in our community. When we look at our data that we collect throughout the year, what it tells us is that (social services) were able to house more than 500 individuals last year in 2025. Of those, nearly half were able to move into housing because they had a housing voucher so they could afford the unit.”
She said the most effective long-term strategies to combating homelessness involve preventing people from losing their homes in the first place, while also leasing, buying and building affordable housing stock and shelter spaces.
These include the 18-unit Dolphin Bay Hotel in Hilo, purchased by the county for $2.7 million in November 2025 and converted into long-term affordable housing, as well as the eight single-family homes purchased for $6.4 million by OHCD last year, and the 16-unit Kukuiola Emergency Shelter and Assessment Center in Kailua-Kona, slated to open next year.
“It’s really four strategies,” she said. “Prevention — how do we keep people indoors, in their homes, not get kicked out, family conflict, (domestic violence). We need an intentional effort to help people keep their housing. …We’ve also got to lease as many housing options as there are in our community for this population. And buy property, which the county did where there was eight homes they purchased, and the Dolphin Bay Hotel. Then build, which is like they’re building Kukuiola.”
However, efforts like these leading to declining homeless rates could be imperiled soon. HHF funding is set to expire next year unless the council votes to extend it, and council members have become increasingly vocal in their criticism about how the money is being spent.
One of them is Hilo Councilman Dennis Onishi, who voted in December last year in favor of the most recent round of HHF funding totalling $6 million, but insisted that grant recipients formulate a “timeline of when they’re going to stop getting money from the county.”
“I believed this funding should help in starting a service for the homeless and not to sustain continued funding for the service,” Onishi said this week in an email to the Tribune-Herald before Wednesday’s data was published.
If homelessness numbers were still trending upward despite spending tens of million of dollars over the past three years, he said, the county should “stop the bleeding.”
“If the results are found to be increasing, the county will need to put a stop to providing general funds to (the) Office of Housing and Community Development and request an audit on the past allocations,” he said.
An audit has already been approved, though. The council unanimously voted on Feb. 4 to request a performance audit of OHCD’s 91直播lessness and Housing Fund — a measure introduced by council Chair Holeka Inaba and Hamakua Councilwoman Heather Kimball to “ensure the effective use” of funds.
When asked if he thinks the grant money has been spent wisely over the years, Onishi responded with a resounding “no.”
“Over 60% of the funding being awarded goes to their salaries, benefits and taxes,” he said about the nonprofits.
Menino pushed back on this claim.
“We need this,” she said. “Personnel is the staffing that do the work. Shelters are staffed 24/7, seven days a week … in order to monitor the 50 individuals that are at the shelter. That’s what you’re paying (for) in order to increase shelter beds, you’re paying for the staffing to do that work. You are investing in the outreach provider so you’re increasing the people doing the work. There’s more people doing the work on the streets … so that’s where the personnel is.”
She said her organization is nonplussed by the council requesting an audit, which is common among nonprofits.
“We go through multiple audits for all of our funders,” she said. “So, I don’t think any of the nonprofits are worried about that. We submit all the things Office of Housing ask us (for), whether it’s receipts, payment requests — we are confident that that’s not an issue for us. We welcome the audit. We have to report to IRS. We have to report to various different bodies.”
When faced with the risk that HOPE Services’ county grant funding could be cut next year, she said the effect that would have on rates of homelessness would be catastrophic.
“It’s very concerning, because our community would be a lot worse off if we did not house those 500-some households last year, and the year before and the year before,” she said. “It’s only going to get worse if they pull investments. It’s shortsighted, right? Like five years and then that’s it, we’re done?”
Email Stefan Verbano at stefan.verbano@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
