Four years ago, Utu Langi made a decision that changed his life.

Driving home in the early morning hours after the night shift as a carpenter, the native Tongan saw a homeless man sleeping on a Beretania Street bus bench, with his knees up to his chest.

At first, Langi drove right past him, eager to get home, but a tugging at his heart made him go around the block and back to the man.

He kept a blanket in his truck to cover his tools - and an inner voice told him he should give it to this guy. He got out, tapped the guy's foot, asked if he was cold and gave it to him, though he got no response.

After that dawn, he went to his pastor at the First United Methodist Church of Honolulu and helped start a program handing out blankets to homeless on the streets.

Langi then started the journey toward his calling today, as founder of the nonprofit H-5 (Hawaii Helping the Hungry Have Hope) and director of the Next Step shelter in Kakaako.

Later, he would organize barbecues to feed the homeless at Ala Moana Beach Park and become a voice for them at a Honolulu Hale protest over its closure at night.

His ideas for addressing homelessness are often out of the box.

For instance, he initiated a 130-mile walk around Oahu to raise awareness of homelessness (an annual event called the 10 Day walk) and concocted the idea of converting former Roberts Hawaii buses into mobile shelters.

His latest idea? To start a work program for the homeless recycling HI5 beverage containers. It would provide jobs and be good for the environment.

Langi, 41, is also pursuing a degree in humanities from Hawaii Pacific University.

Serving as director of Next Step is a 24/7 job, but it is part of his life. His wife, three teenage sons (one of whom he adopted) and daughter all help out at the shelter.

The most common misperception of the homeless, he said, is that they are all alcoholics, drug addicts and lazy people who do not want to work.

But that stigma does not accurately portray the approximately 150 individuals residing at Next Step - about one-third are children, and a significant number work part time or full time.

“;These are hard-working people,”; said Langi. “;They want to work.”;

Having been a troubled teen, Langi also can relate to those who have made wrong decisions and fallen on hard times. When he first arrived in Hawaii 21 years ago as a teen, he hung out with the wrong crowd, got into drugs and drug-dealing - and landed in jail.

When he was released, he was given another chance, working first at a roofing company and then as a carpenter after going through a union apprenticeship program.

Those experiences are what give him the belief that people can change when given a chance.

Today, Next Step's future remains uncertain, given that it is on a month-to-month lease. Its occupants are living on borrowed time as the state searches for a new site.

Every day brings new challenges - like when a storm blew a hole in the roof.

The job is demanding, but the reward, Langi said, is “;knowing that I'm part of something good. It can be overwhelming sometimes but that's what keeps me going.”;

Langi said shelter residents have gotten married after meeting there, given birth to babies and found new jobs. What he is most proud of, however, is how many - more than 900, he said - who have since moved on to permanent shelter.