DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Robert Shoaf stood yesterday with his three sons, 1-year-old Dustin, left, 3-year-old Dylan and 5-year-old Demetry, outside a new homeless shelter in Kalaeloa. The bottom floor is being worked on by contract workers while the upper two floors are already occupied.

Homeless shelter opens early

Forty-seven units are already filled at a Kalaeloa facility that will hold 200 people

Thirty families already live in the state's new homeless shelter at Kalaeloa, which opened two months ahead of schedule.

A converted military building now called Onelauena is the state's first homeless shelter on the Leeward coast since Gov. Linda Lingle vowed to do something about the homeless problem in West Oahu. Officials estimate at least 1,500 people live on 16 miles of Leeward beaches.

Lingle and Lt. Gov. James Aiona will dedicate the new shelter today at a noon blessing ceremony.

Residents staying at the shelter plan to serve chicken, spaghetti and salad to feed 300 people as a way of giving the governor thanks.

Onelauena means "where all necessities of life are found," said Kaulana Park, the state's homeless coordinator for the Leeward coast.

The state is spending nearly $2 million to renovate the three-story building into 66 living units. Crews are still working on the first floor, which is configured for the handicapped. The state expects the building will house 200 people when complete, said Park.

Forty-seven units already are occupied by the 30 families on the second and third floors. The first floor, which was scheduled to open in March 2007, should be open by mid-November, Park said.

Crews from the state Department of Accounting and General Services helped to accelerate the shelter's renovation.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Haunani Kalama opened a door in the second-floor hallway leading to a room used to store donated items such as beds and household items.

Onelauena is an emergency and transitional shelter that helps single people and families, giving preference to those from the Waianae coast.

Residents can stay for free for up to six months, after which they pay a program fee. They are also required to attend classes in job and life skills.

People join the shelter through the Waikiki Outreach Center, Waianae Community Outreach or through an outreach specialist who works with homeless in the community.

Tulutulu Toa, the outreach specialist for Waianae Community Outreach, which manages the shelter, works with homeless along the Waianae coast. An outreach specialist for 10 years, Toa said she works with about 1,000 people living on the beach.

Toa chose families with young children as the first residents of the shelter. Many of the families have infants and all include children, from newborns to 17 years old. The largest family has 17 members.

The shelter has community bathrooms, laundry rooms and kitchens on each floor. Rooms are nearly 18 by 13 feet, with smaller rooms of 13 by 13 feet. They come with microwaves, iceboxes and furniture.

After moving into the shelter, Robert Shoaf, 36, got his three children back from foster care.

He is living with his girlfriend and children ages 1, 3, and 5.

Shoaf said he is looking for a job. Yesterday he rode the bus to attend a drug addiction class in Nanakuli.

He said he's happy to be off the beach and doesn't mind the skills training he is required to attend.

"It keeps you motivated," he said.