2008 Woodie Awards
Financial strain contributes to homelessness
Casey Chin
Issue date: 12/3/07 Section: News
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"Anybody could be homeless," Lauritzen said. One of 150 people in the women's shelter at the Institute for Human Services, Inc, Lauritzen has been homeless for about a year. Lauritzen said she was just like anybody else, until she became one of Hawai‘i's more than 6,000 homeless individuals, a number according to a 2003 state survey.
A veteran of the U.S. Army, Lauritzen became homeless after she quit working two jobs to spend more time with her daughter. The accumulation of bills and the inability to pay them resulted in the loss of her housing, her car and her personal possessions in storage. Lauritzen put her child in the care of a foster family when she realized she would be homeless.
Now she has two goals: do whatever it takes to get her daughter back and find housing. She is working at a movie theater, taking parenting classes and thinking of returning to college. Lauritzen knows that despite all the services the Institute for Human Services provides her, she faces an uphill battle.
"It is a complex problem that will not be remedied without affordable housing and compensation scales that match the cost of living in Hawai‘i," said Connie Mitchell, the executive director of the institute. She added that there is no doubt that Hawai‘i's cost of living is high, since almost everything is imported to the islands.
A helping hand from UH
In effort to better understand what the contributing factors leading to homelessness are, the Center on the Family at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa conducted to studies on the issue. The research of each revealed how much the cost of living and homelessness in Hawai‘i are related. The Homeless Service Utilization Report 2007 was conducted by the Homeless Programs Branch of the Hawai‘i Public Housing Authority, as well as the university.
"It really is the most comprehensive data system that's available on the homeless," said Sylvia Yuen, one of the authors of the report. She added that although it's only in its second year, the report has resulted in significant results.
The other report, Economic Well-Being in Hawai‘i: Family and Individual Self-Sufficiency, was developed in 2005 by the Center on the Family, Aloha United Way and Hawai‘i Kids Count. The report analyzed the ability of Hawai‘i's residents to remain self-sufficient by comparing estimated incomes with estimated costs of living.
Both reveal that finances and affordable housing are key issues. According to the Homeless Service Utilization Report, homeless individuals cited financial problems as the reason for their homelessness three times as much as the second greatest category, family conflict.
A crisis within a family, like a medical emergency, was cited as an example that could push a family into homelessness. When a family feels the financial squeeze, they might lose their home. According to the Economic Well-Being report, the cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Honolulu rose by 70.3 percent between 2002 and 2005, whereas average income increased only 15.7 percent.
"I don't think the answer is to build more shelters or have more programs to serve homeless people. I would be for increases in minimum wage; paying a living wage," said Marika Ripke, another author of the Homeless Service Utilization Report said.
The Economic Well-Being report concluded that of Hawai‘i's 25 most common occupations, which make up roughly 40 percent of the workforce, only two pay well enough to support a family of four.
Despite this disparity, much can be done to help Hawai‘i's homeless. Money, volunteering and other donations always help, but sometimes compassion is the greatest aid.
"There is this myth that a large number of the homeless are on drugs or are mentally ill," Yuen said. Based on her own experience, Lauritzen said that most homeless peope are not substance abusers or involved with the law.
For her, it is important for college students to not pass judgment.
"(Students) can just hang out and talk story. Sometimes that's all somebody needs to get the motivation to continue their week."
She acknowledged that it is easy for students to not think about the homeless. "But in a couple of years, if they don't watch it, they could end up just like this," she said.
Lauritzen feels that the homeless should not be looked at with pity, because that does nothing to help. To her, when people respect homeless individuals, then everyone can pull together to make change.
Yuen believes that actions today can save people from becoming homeless tomorrow. "Another way to solve this is to look upstream: What can we do to keep people from being homeless? No matter how much they make, they're saving money for that rainy day."
Homeless Service Utilization Report 2007
All individuals (adults and children)
- Of those who received services, 58% were male and 42% were female.
- Minors (ages 17 and under) comprised 29% of the population served statewide, with higher percentages of children reported in Kaua‘i (48%), Hawai‘i (44%) and Maui (35%) counties.
Adult individuals (18 years and older)
- Nearly one-third (30%) of the sheltered adults were employed, with
11% working part-time and 19% working full-time. The majority (69%) were unemployed. - Almost half (48%) of the adults had a high school diploma or GED, while another 30% reported having some college education or
completing a college degree. - Of the households headed by a single adult, 85% were headed by a female.
- Over half (56%) of the households who received shelter services had been homeless for less than one month and 17% had been homeless for a year or longer.
- Over three-quarters (81%) who completed the program left for a room, apartment or house that they rented or owned; 11% went to an emergency or transitional shelter; and 6%
went to live with family or friends.
Households
Information courtesy of Center on the Family at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
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