Sunday, July 27, 2025 12:05 am
By KALI FRENCH
Imagine suddenly losing your home. Would you still manage to keep up your exercise routine? If you were living in your car, could you properly wash your vegetables to make a healthy meal? And if your only shelter was at a beach park, could you keep your medication dry when it rains?
Working with a team serving people overcoming homelessness has taught me that healthcare and housing are both critical and inseparable for rebuilding lives. To help people get housed and stay housed, we must ensure they have access to healthcare and support.
That’s why HOPE Services Hawaii is building a continuum of care — meeting people where they are, and transitioning families into permanent housing.
Our Psychiatric Street Medicine team brings medical and psychiatric care directly to those living outdoors. We assess needs, provide immediate care (like wound treatment), and connect individuals to primary care, insurance and housing.
For individuals with severe mental illness who pose a risk to themselves or others, or who are too unwell to make decisions regarding their care, Assisted Community Treatment (ACT) provides a legal avenue to secure psychiatric treatment through a court order at the nearest medical facility.
ACT is a last-resort option when all other interventions have been exhausted. If access to treatment is not provided, the individual might otherwise remain unsheltered and at great risk. A significant challenge remains; after an ACT order is issued by the judge, ensuring a safe and timely transport to the health care facility is still necessary.
At shelters, Shelter Medicine prevents unnecessary emergency room visits by treating conditions early. For those recovering from illness or injury, Medical Respite offers a safe place to heal while accessing support. These programs thrive because of our health care partnerships — bridging gaps between hospitals, insurers and community services.
But health care is only part of the solution. Stability begins with a home. Over 15 years, we’ve proven that housing plus supportive services equals long-term success. That’s why we’re expanding affordable housing across Hawaii Island:
— Hilo: Youth apartments for young adults priced out of the market.
— Kona: Kani Le‘a Apartments, offering affordable units for families and individuals.
— Honoka‘a: Renovating the old convent house at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church to house kupuna with dignity.
— Pahoa: Sacred Heart Community’s Phase 3, adding family housing.
— Mountain View: A future village with housing, services, and economic opportunities.
— Islandwide: 155 master-leased units.
None of this would be possible without strong partnerships with health care providers, insurers and philanthropic supporters.
Early on, we were lifted up by the Kaiser Foundation, Oak Foundation Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation and Hilo Benioff Medical Center. Their belief in our work allowed us to pilot innovative programs, and once we demonstrated reduced hospital stays and health care costs, we engaged insurers to pay for medical respite and integrated care hubs.
Today, we also collaborate with MedQuest, providing input on policies to better support vulnerable populations.
Homelessness is complex, but solvable. I’ve seen people deemed “beyond hope” regain health, stability and purpose. By uniting housing, health care and community partnerships at a systemic level, we can create a future where everyone has the chance to thrive.
Let’s do this!
Kali French is chief operating officer for HOPE Services Hawaii, a nonprofit dedicated to making homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring on Hawaii Island. Learn more at hopeserviceshawaii.org.
This editorial is brought to you by Community First Hawaii, a nonprofit serving as a convener and catalyst for solutions to improve health and access to health care. For more information, please visit our website at www.communityfirsthawaii.org or Facebook and Instagram pages at @communityfirsthawaii