15th Annual Maui Health Fair For the Homeless, Nov. 21

Homelessness in Hawaiʻi. Photo at The Salvation Army on Kamehameha Avenue in Kahului, April 8, 2014, by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

The Salvation Army on Maui hosts a Health Fair for the Homeless on Friday, Nov. 21, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at their Kahului offices on West Kamehameha Avenue.

The 15th annual event is held in partnership with the students from the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College nursing program and The Hoʻomoana Foundation.

This event is free and open to the public.

The Health Fair features information and screening to Maui’s homeless population, including: blood glucose testing, blood pressure reading, flu vaccines, diabetes awareness, domestic violence prevention, safety assessment, substance abuse awareness, wound care, cardiovascular health, domestic violence information, hygiene and first aid, flu vaccines, and respiratory awareness.

The event coincides with National Homelessness Awareness Week, which is observed from Nov. 16 to 22, 2014.

A study published by the State Department of Human Services that indicates there are nearly 7,000 homeless people in the state, 959 of them on Maui.

The “Statewide Homeless Point-in-Time Count 2014″ report conducted shelter and unsheltered counts of homeless in January of 2014 in the Central Maui, Lower Waiehu, Upcounty, Lahaina, Kīhei, and Hāna areas.

According to the report, there were 445 sheltered and 514 unsheltered homeless individuals on Maui in 2014, up 9.47% from the previous year.  That’s up from counts over the past two years, but down from the more than 1,000 homeless individuals counted in 2009 and 2011.

Participating health care resource agencies include: Labor Ready; Hui No Ke Ola Pono; Maui Aids Foundation; Food Bank; UHMC Dental Hygiene program; American Red Cross; US Department of Veteran Affairs – HUD-VASH program; Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center; Women Helping Women; Maui Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Survivor Services; Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi; Hawaiʻi Health Connector; Mental Health America of Hawaiʻi-Maui; Mental Health Kokua; Maui Economic Opportunity; Hoʻomoana Foundation; Hawaiʻi Department of Health-Emergency Preparedness Branch; Family Life Center; Maui Youth & Family Services; Malama I Ke Ola Health Center; Legal Aid Society of Hawaiʻi-Maui; A Cup of Cold Water Community Care Van; Point Man International Ministries; Aloha House; Mālama Family Recovery Center; Habitat for Humanity; and the UHMC Health Center.