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Released 9 February 2009
SALVATION ARMY OPENS NEW TRANSITIONAL HOUSING PROGRAM
FOR HOMELESS AND RECOVERING WOMEN
HONOLULU - The Salvation Army recently opened a new facility that will provide transitional housing to homeless women who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. The dedication of the new facility was held on February 2 at The Salvation Army Manoa Campus in Honolulu.
Ka `Ohu Hou O Manoa (translated from Hawaiian as the "fresh mist of Manoa") is a program by The Salvation Army Family Treatment Services that provides a clean and sober and affordable housing for 12 homeless women and their children. The housing facility is made up of two newly renovated brick bungalows each with six bedrooms, an office and shared living, dining and kitchen facilities.
At the dedication ceremony attended by some of Hawai‘i's leading public officials, Commissioner Phil Swyers said, "This project is helping people become what they ought and should become." The transitional program will provide opportunities for women in recovery to get back on their feet while having a roof over their heads.
"This is a great day and this is a great facility, said Hawai‘i Governor Linda Lingle. "I know that the women who come here and their children are going to take what they receive here and share it with others."
Major Edward Hill, divisional commander of the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division, extolled the collaborative efforts of many businesses that made the venture possible. "Without the help of our partners in the community who contributed monetary and in-kind services, this would not have been possible," Hill said.
A primary requirement for admission to the program is that women have to be homeless, pregnant or parenting and in stable recovery. Women currently in residential treatment may apply if they were homeless prior to entering treatment. The residents must be capable of independent living and willing to go to work or school. Girls under age 12 and boys under age 10 may live with their mothers. Residents can live in the facility for up to two years.
As in most places, affordable housing has become scarcer, says Linda Rich, executive director of Family Treatment Services. "In the past three years, women who are homeless upon admission to The Salvation Army rehabilitation program has grown from 15 percent to 27 percent." Providing them with additional help by way of a transitional shelter makes their chances of staying clean and sober a much more reachable goal.
Major funding for the transitional housing program was provided by the City and County of Honolulu through a HOME grant, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Two West Foundation, and in-kind donations received from major Honolulu businesses. Architectural services were donated by Architects Hawai‘i Ltd. Estimated building costs that include financial grants and in-kind donations and services total $2.2 million.