HILO, Hawaii Oct. 26, 2011 – HOPE Services Hawaii and Community Partners held The Downtown Hilo Registry Week in a series of events that kicked off Hawaii’s participation in the “100,000 Homes Campaign”, a national effort to house 100,000 Homeless by July 2013. As the first community in the State of Hawaii to participate, Fifty (50) Community Volunteers outreached all across the Downtown Hilo community three mornings, October 23-25 from 4-7am each morning, to find, identify and survey the area’s homeless. The Downtown Hilo Registry Week will create a by-name, photographic registry of local homeless and prioritize the most vulnerable for housing. After Day 1, over 100 homeless persons were encountered and over 80% of them completed the surveys in the volunteer’s group effort to assess the homeless’ health and housing needs.

A local coalition of volunteers and community providers spearheaded by HOPE Services Hawaii has teamed up with the nationally renowned organization, Community Solutions, and its 100,000 Homes Campaign (www.100Khomes.org). The program has become a national model for reducing/eliminating homelessness. 100 cities across America have participated in this campaign in it’s inaugural year.

Media Opportunities:

  • Wednesday, October 24 at 4 am- Embedded opportunity with volunteer teams as they walk downtown streets to locate and survey local homeless **Cameras permitted, but media will abide by specified sensitivity protocol.**
  • Friday, October 28 at 11 a.m. – Press Conference to unveil results of data collected during Registry Week, including a detailed demographic breakdown of area’s homeless and next steps. Speakers include: Brandee Menino, CEO of HOPE Services Hawaii
    WHERE: HOPE Resource Center / 116 Kapiolani Street
  • For more information:

    Brandee Menino, HOPE Services Chief Executive Officer – Phone 808. 933.6013 or email bmenino@hopeserviceshawaii.org – Please visit our website: www.hopeserviceshawaii.org