Second phase of innovative transitional shelter opens in City’s Iwilei Center

News Release from City and County of Honolulu, July 11, 2025

HONOLULU – Forty-two additional beds are now available at a transitional housing community called Kumu Ola Hou in the City and County of Honolulu’s Iwilei Center.

The second phase of expansion of Kumu Ola Hou (Source of New Life) is led by the Institute for Human Services (IHS), offering a culturally grounded, 90-day transitional housing program for working males who are striving for financial stability. The goal is to foster self-sufficiency through community and cultural respect, while preparing men for housing independence. The first cohort of individuals was welcomed to the facility on June 12, 2025.

This second phase builds upon phase one of Kumu Ola Hou, which was unveiled in February of 2025, also at the Iwilei Center. Kumu Ola Hou’s innovative approach prioritizes brain and behavioral health to help clients with significant trauma, brain injuries, or mental health challenges, to rebuild their lives by supporting brain function, independence and well-being.

“We are directly confronting the complex issue of homelessness with a broad array of groundbreaking solutions, including Kuma Ola Hou,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “We are offering our City facilities and resources to allow our partners to do their inspirational work. Ultimately, we are doing everything we can to help these individuals heal and return to a healthy and happy lifestyle, because it is the right thing to do for them and for our communities.”

Images show the showers and the kitchen at Kumu Ola Hou.

The third phase of expansion is Kūwili Kauhale at Iwilei Center will be run by Mental Health Kokua. The focus of Kūwili Kauhale is to provide a safe, non-threatening, voluntary supportive environment to assess and stabilize the most vulnerable homeless adults with serious mental illness (SMI), with services to help them secure housing and support toward their recovery. SMI includes schizophrenia bi-polar disorder, major depression, and PTSD. Hawaii’s homeless adults with SMI exhibit behaviors most landlords and shelters find difficult to understand and manage. More than 50% of individuals diagnosed with a SMI also have a co-occurring substance use disorder exacerbating behavioral problems and psychiatric symptoms. The Kūwili Kauhale is 50-bed transitional supported housing, with comprehensive services specifically designed for adults with SMI. Guided by the principles of the housing-first model and Trauma Informed Care, the Kūwili Kauhale’s primary focus is to provide wrap-around support while immediately moving vulnerable individuals into transitional housing, with 24-hour residential staff coverage, helping and training with the psychiatric and medical stabilization necessary for housing placement.

There will be 50 beds in the facility. Men and women will be separated for privacy and will begin placement in the facility by August 1, 2025.

All three shelters are part of the City’s urgent efforts to address homelessness with a thoughtful, comprehensive, and effective approach in partnership with dedicated partner organizations, including IHS and Mental Health Kokua.

An aerial view of Iwilei Center, which was purchased by the City in 2024.

In parallel, the City is advancing a bold redevelopment vision for Iwilei Center and the surrounding neighborhood. The Iwilei Center site itself spans 4 acres and is slated to become a vibrant, high-density, mixed-use community—featuring new housing, neighborhood-serving retail, and active public spaces. This redevelopment is part of a broader master planning effort for the surrounding 17-acre Kūwili Station Transit-Oriented Development area, where the City envisions a walkable, transit-connected neighborhood with thousands of new homes, upgraded infrastructure, and community benefits such as complete streets, flood resilience features, and green open space.

The planning effort is focused on improving multimodal connectivity, advancing climate resilience, and supporting inclusive community growth. It is being carried out in collaboration with multiple departments, including the Department of Housing and Land Management, Department of Planning and Permitting, Department of Transportation Services, Department of Facility Maintenance, Department of Design and Construction, Department of Environmental Services, and the City’s Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency.

The initiative is supported by a $2 million planning grant from the Federal Transit Administration, $700,000 from the State Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, and $250,000 in City funds. Earlier this week, the City selected DTL, in partnership with BDP Quadrangle, Wilson Okamoto Corporation, and Nippon Koei, to lead a master planning effort.

Planning work is expected to begin this summer, with community engagement and deliverables phased through 2027.

Click this link for high resolution photos of Phase 2 of Kumu Ola Hou.