JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Laura Pitolo, program director; Jordan Akau; operations manager, and Haunani Kalama, operations specialist, made final preparations prior to a dedication ceremony yesterday morning for the new Onelauena Homeless shelter at Kalaeloa. The three are part of the management team from Hope for a New Beginning that will run the facility.

Kalaeloa homeless shelter dedicated

Some 150 people are already living in the nearly finished facility

Gov. Linda Lingle officially opened Onelauena shelter in Kalaeloa yesterday with the help of 30 families -- nearly 150 people already living at the transitional shelter.

The shelter is part of Lingle's plan to help the homeless along the Waianae coast by building more emergency and transitional shelters. Officials estimate at least 1,500 homeless live on the Leeward coast.

"This is not an ending for these people. This is a new beginning," Lingle told the gathering of shelter residents, administrators and people who helped renovate the building.

The celebration came after three months of renovations to the former military barrack. Twenty-five children celebrated in a line dance with the governor.

Still only two-thirds complete, the transitional shelter will hold 200 people when fully opened. Ninety children have been living at the shelter since Oct. 19.

Residents enjoyed food and music during the afternoon celebration, with children lining up for a giant monster-truck-shaped jumper.

Fifteen members of the shelter cooked 150 pounds of shoyu chicken, 80 pounds of ground beef for spaghetti, and macaroni salad.

A group of inmates from the Oahu Community Correctional Center who helped with renovations also attended. About 30 workers from OCCC worked with crews from the state Department of Accounting and General Services.

"It's hard work. It feels good because nobody in America should go hungry," said Robert Padilla, an OCCC prisoner. The prisoners dug trenches for the underground plumbing and moved in the refrigerators and the microwaves.

In the last month, DAGS crews worked seven days a week to finish replacing all the electrical lines, plumbing, and build new walls.

A supervisor of the work crews said he was asked to finish the project by the end of this month, but the renovations to the first floor should be complete by mid-November.

Across the railroad tracks from Kapolei High School, Onelauena is one of several low squat former military buildings used for social programs. Within a few acres, there are several social programs: The Hawaii National Guard operates its Youth Challenge Academy -- a last chance program for troubled teenagers; there's a transitional home and a substance abuse rehabilitation center for military veterans; a private nonprofit runs a home for mentally ill homeless adults; and another homeless shelter operates across from Onelauena.

Some residents of Kalaeloa say they are happy that the shelter is open for the homeless. It's better to get them off the beach, they say.

Others wonder if crime will escalate. Greg Awana works at the Barber's Point Bowling Center across from Onelauena and rents an apartment in Kalaeloa. He said he's encountered a number of problems already.

One night, he caught a man trying to enter his home. Seven months ago, someone stole a bench from the front of the bowling alley.

"Even without the shelter, there's homeless all through the bushes," he said.

"It's a concern, but where else are they going to go? ... I want to remain optimistic, especially for them."