The county is looking for a new non-profit to manage Ka Lamaku, the tiny homes located at the entrance of Old Kona Airport Park in Kailua-Kona that have served as an emergency shelter since 2020.
The shelter closed on June 30 when service-provider HOPE Services Hawaii’s contract to manage the emergency shelter expired.
Program participants were offered longer-term housing options before the closure.
The County of Hawaii Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) is considering new plans for temporary shelter units at the now-closed Ka Lamaku Emergency Shelter. OHCD was working to secure a new provider with the goal of having the new contractor on board by mid-July 2023; however no qualified agencies responded to the request for bid by the June deadline.
The 10-foot by 8-foot wooden units provided temporary housing of various lengths for 112 individuals throughout the program’s lifetime. Ka Lamaku had 17, two-person shelter units for adults age 18 and over.
“We want to send a big mahalo to HOPE Services Hawaii for helping to establish Ka Lamaku to provide safe shelter for some of the most vulnerable members of our community during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 and continuing to operate it for the past three years,” said OHCD Administrator Susan Kunz. “Public-private partnerships make programs like Ka Lamaku Emergency Shelter successful, and we look forward to partnering with the next nonprofit to ensure this much-needed program continues.”
Funding for the program has come from local, state, and federal sources.
OHCD Public Information Officer Chelsea Jensen said Ka Lamaku Emergency Shelter’s most recent contract with HOPE Services Hawaii totaled $325,000 and was paid for by the recently established Homelessness and Housing Fund.
The tiny houses were built in June 2020 at Old Kona Airport Park in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 50 volunteers, including members of the County Fire Department and Recruit Class, erected walls and roofs, installed windows and doors along the roadway that passes mauka of Makaeo Pavilion. Tinguely Development worked in partnership with the County to prepare the site for vertical construction.
When built, the temporary structures were to remain open until KukuiOla, the new emergency shelter located on Kealakehe Parkway, was ready for occupancy.
At the time of Ka Lamaku’s construction, KukuiOla was anticipated to be completed by October, 2021. Groundbreaking took place in January, 2023.
Grading for KukuiOla has begun. Once the site is prepared, construction of the first phase of the emergency shelter will commence. That first phase, as currently outlined, will include 16 emergency shelter units, a congregate kitchen area, restrooms, parking and other amenities.
The county is now evaluating all its options for Ka Lamaku, including moving forward with new plans that include relocating some of the units to non-profit service providers and soliciting another round of proposals to manage fewer units at the facility.
In the interim, additional police patrols have been requested, and HOPE Services Hawai’i is keeping an eye on the units during the overnight hours.
Non-profit service providers interested in the program are encouraged to contact the Community Engagement Division at ohcdengagement@hawaiicounty.gov for more information.