City unveils mobile outreach center to help move homeless off the streets

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The city unveiled new tents that are part of a mobile project to help homeless individuals and families transition into shelter and permanent housing.

The Homeless Outreach and Navigation for Unsheltered Persons hub will be open 24/7.

City officials say the navigation center will be able to assist more people since it’s mobile.

There will be 10 tents that will be monitored by police officers and social service providers. Each tent can house up to 10 people.

In two days, the project will head to its first stop at the Waipahu Cultural Garden Park.

"We're not going to select parks that are close to neighbor hoods right abutting the park. We'll look for places where there's some buffer," said Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell. "Everyone will have to share in this burden and I will have to share one in Manoa at some point."

The project, which was initiated by Honolulu police, took about 18 months to bring to fruition.

“Without the community’s support and without their willingness to help us understand this very difficult issue, there’s no way that HPD could even understand the needs of the service providers and the needs of the people that are in crisis as well as how do we best fairly enforce the laws for people who are experiencing homelessness,” said Honolulu police Capt. Mike Lambert.

The HONU program will be in one place for no more than 90 days, according to Caldwell.