Statewide, there are approximately 1,700 chronically homeless individuals with mental illness or substance abuse issues and living on streets or in parks for one-to-3 years. That’s according to January’s point-in-time count. The Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice drafted a preliminary cost-benefit analysis for providing permanent supportive housing and services for the chronically homeless. 

Gavin Thornton is Hawaiʻi Appleseed’s co-executive director: “We calculated that an investment of $766 million would be required over the next 10 years to house our chronically homeless population. By doing this, we could potentially save over $2 billion in costs, primarily from medical expenses.”