State leaders and community members celebrated the dedication of two additional homeless shelters yesterday on the Leeward Coast.

The shelters, Ulu ke Kukui in Maili and Kumuhonua in Kalaeloa, were the last of five on the Leeward Coast constructed under the state emergency proclamation implemented 2 1/2 years ago to address the growing homeless problem.

“;It's a lot of money, a lot of construction, but it's about people's lives,”; said Gov. Linda Lingle at yesterday's dedication ceremonies.

“;This is really an exemplification of public-private partnership,”; said Russ Saito, state homeless solutions coordinator. “;It took a lot of people to get to this point.”;

Design and construction costs for Ulu ke Kukui, formerly called the Villages of Maili, were estimated at $14.8 million, while costs for Kumuhonua, formerly called Building 36, were estimated at $2.8 million.

Alice Greenwood, 63, moved into Ulu ke Kukui, which means “;growth that comes after nourishment,”; earlier this week, the first resident to move into the five-building complex.

Greenwood lived at Maili Beach Park for several months before moving to Paiolu Kaiaulu, a state emergency shelter in Waianae with her adopted son, Makalii Hatchie, 8. Looking back, Greenwood recalled how impossible she thought it would be to move into a transitional shelter.

“;I never knew something like this could happen,”; she said yesterday.

  Two New Shelters Dedicated On The Waianae Coast

 

  The shelters will get people off the beach and give them a chance to get their lives together without worrying about finding shelter. 

 

[  Watch  ]

 

 

 

 

  She will pay a $500 monthly stipend and can stay up to two years at the shelter, which has 80 units to house approximately 250 people.

A community learning center, kitchen, multipurpose room and classrooms for adults and a children's center were also constructed on the 6.2-acre portion of the 89-acre former Voice of America site in Maili.

Kumuhonua, which means “;to return back to the land and gain foundation,”; is the only shelter of the five state-built shelters on the Leeward Coast solely for singles and homeless couples.

About 145 homeless people are slated to move into the three-story building. Nani Jenny, 22, who lived at Ala Moana Beach Park before she moved to Paiolu Kaiaulu, said she is looking forward to moving in.

“;It's great,”; said Jenny after she took a brief tour of the 70-unit site, a former military barracks.

Kaulana Park, deputy director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and former homeless solutions director, said it is a joy to provide shelter to the homeless. “;That's what it's all about,”; said Park.

The state also hopes to get more people in homes through the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., which plans to build 5,000 affordable units statewide. “;That's very critical,”; said Park.