{"id":663,"date":"2026-05-28T07:34:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T07:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=663"},"modified":"2026-05-28T07:34:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T07:34:38","slug":"waimanalo-village-for-unsheltered-homeless-expands-with-kauhale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=663","title":{"rendered":"Waimanalo village for unsheltered homeless expands with kauhale"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WAIMANALO (HawaiiNewsNow) – A new tiny home village has just opened in Waimanalo.<\/p>\n

Read more Hawaii County mayor expects disaster declaration after 6.0 earthquake<\/a><\/p>\n

Ke Kauhale \u2018o Luhia is the 26th site under the state\u2019s kauhale initiative. It adds 20 new homes to an existing 31-unit village on Saddle City Road. <\/p>\n

At a blessing ceremony, state and community leaders touted the kauhale program\u2019s impact so far, giving shelter, support and community to about 2,000 residents across the state, without the red tape and high costs of traditional construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to just chip away at the problem, but this is the first time in a generation we\u2019ve seen a steep decrease in homelessness, and that\u2019s because of really because of the kauhale initiative and because people didn\u2019t give up on it,\u201d said Gov. Josh Green. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Organizers say the site took three-and-a-half months to build and cost about $1.6 million, under budget with donations from construction partners. <\/p>\n

Rent per unit ranges from $150 to about $400 a month.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you bring down the cost of construction, you can pass on those savings to the end user who really needs deeply affordable rents,\u201d said HomeAid Hawaii CEO Kimo Carvalho.<\/p>\n

But the process is raising some red flags from the state auditor, which is currently reviewing the program. A letter sent last month listed concerns over oversight, contract costs and accountability of taxpayer money. The final audit is expected to be completed within a few months. <\/p>\n

Read more US Education Department under secretary visits Mokulele Elementary, UH Manoa<\/a><\/p>\n

Organizers say they are complying, but are unfazed because the process is new.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate the fact that we always have to assess new ideas, but this is not like doing shelters,\u201d Green said. \u201cWhen the auditor gives us recommendations, we\u2019ll look at them objectively and do our best to incorporate them.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth is bureaucracy has actually costed taxpayers more money to actually develop affordable housing,\u201d Carvalho said. \u201cIf we get in the way and we make it more costly, we can\u2019t do villages like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re gonna keep innovating, we\u2019re gonna keep educating people on how we\u2019re doing this and hopefully everyone pauses and listens,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Leaders say the results speak for themselves, with a 13% drop in unsheltered homeless this year, 20% down on Oahu and a 91% plunge in Waikiki. <\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes people take a couple of years before they move on. Sometimes it\u2019s faster, but you do get people that get off the street, get stable,\u201d said state rep. Lisa Marten, who represents windward Oahu. \u201cHaving these places is what we need to lift people up, get them on their way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Push for renewed look at legislative corruption petition<\/a><\/p>\n

The state aims to build four more kauhale by the end of the year.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ke Kauhale ‘o Luhia is the 26th site under the state\u2019s kauhale initiative and adds 20 new homes to an existing 31-unit village on Saddle City Road. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWaimanalo village for unsheltered homeless expands with kauhale - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=663\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Waimanalo village for unsheltered homeless expands with kauhale - 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