RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
The three-story, 72-unit Hale Ulu Pono housing unit had its grand opening last week and already is home to 24 residents, among them Linda Chong, who checked out the closet in her new apartment yesterday.
Troubled souls
find house of hopeA new apartment at Kalaeloa
is a haven for the homeless
Linda Chong's life crumbled after a messy divorce that caused her to lose her home and successful restaurant, Noe's Bar & Grille, in Kapaa, Kauai.
"I was a lost soul," said Chong, who fell into a major depression and became homeless, living at beaches on Kauai and Oahu, as well as at a women's shelter at the Institute for Human Services.
With the help of a caseworker and staff members, she looks forward to volunteer work and hopes to get a job after moving into a semi-independent housing facility, called Hale Ulu Pono, or "the house of well-being," at Kalaeloa, formerly Barbers Point.
"I never thought I would get to this point. ... Now there's hope," she said.
Chong and 23 residents live at Hale Ulu Pono, a three-story, 72-unit housing facility that serves the homeless who suffer from severe or persistent mental illness.
The facility, which held its grand opening last week, was established through the efforts of local, state, federal and nonprofit organizations. It is staffed by resident managers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and recovery specialists assist occupants with confronting problems and helping them move back into the community.
Each has his or her own air-conditioned unit furnished with a bed, refrigerator, microwave, bathroom and closet. Residents, who started moving into the facility after the holiday season, pay one-third of the income they receive from public assistance, supplemental security income or Social Security disability income for rent. A kitchen, lobby and coin-operated laundry are also available on all floors.
According to Bernie Miranda, community housing services director for the Adult Mental Health Division, 3,337 people in the state have been intermittently homeless.
More than 75 percent of those people suffer from serious and persistent mental illness, substance abuse or both substance abuse and mental disorders.
Sandy Miyoshi, state homeless programs director, said places like Hale Ulu Pono provide those who suffer from substance abuse and mental illness "a safe environment where they can confront their own demons."
Hale Ulu Pono is part of the Kalaeloa Community Development District. Following the closure of the Barbers Point Naval Air Station, the state Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawaii slated four barracks on 12.5 acres to serve Oahu's homeless.
In December 2001 a shelter for homeless couples, called Onemalu, was established in one of the four buildings. Another building will be used for job training and counseling for Hale Ulu Pono residents. The remaining building is being partially used to run the Hawaii National Guard Youth Challenge Program.
Clark Brand, 48, who was the first to move into Hale Ulu Pono, said the facility is "one of the best things for people in our society."
"I'm one of the lucky ones," said Brand, who battled alcohol and substance abuse for years after his father died in 1977. "I have somebody to go to talk to about my problems, and that's important."
