Bridging The Gap CoC Homeless Point-in-Time Count January 25, 2026
Report Prepared by: Ka Mana O Na Helu May, 2026
Executive Summary
Ka Mana O Na Helu (KMNH) is the Collaborative Applicant and Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Lead Agency for Bridging The Gap (BTG) Continuum of Care and is responsible for assisting with the implementation of the local Point-in-Time Count (PIT) and reporting the findings to BTG and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). KMNH has prepared this report to convey 2026 PIT results, and to compare this data to prior years. The official night of the 2026 PIT was Sunday, January 25, 2026.
This report presents a detailed view of regional homelessness, including demographic information and county profiles of homelessness by sub-population for the rural counties of Hawai`i, Kaua`i, and Maui. The goal of this report is to inform the community at large, elected officials, government agencies, and other stakeholders of the immediate homeless situation on the neighbor islands. This report provides comprehensive data to promote informed decision-making for future funding activities, local strategic planning efforts, capacity building, and program development within BTG. Findings from the local PIT effort assist the federal, state, and county government in better understanding the extent and nature of homelessness.
A full PIT consists of both a sheltered count and an unsheltered count. A sheltered count is required annually, whereas an unsheltered count is required at least biennially. BTG was not required to conduct an unsheltered count in 2025 and thus elected not to do so. Prior to 2026, the last full PIT that BTG completed was in 2024. Where full PIT results are compared below, 2026 data is compared to 2024 data, and excludes non-congregate shelter (NCS) data from these comparisons, since 2024 NCS data significantly increased sheltered and total counts that year.
Results from the 2026 PIT revealed a two percent decline in total one-day homelessness from 1,895 people in 2024 to 1,863 people in 2026. This 32-person reduction can be attributed to net decreases for each of the rural counties. Compared to 2024 data, Hawai`i attained a three percent reduction overall, while Kaua’i and Maui achieved one percent reductions. On Hawai`i and Kaua`i the decreases were driven by a decline in unsheltered homelessness, while on Maui the reduction was the result of a large decrease in sheltered homelessness.
The overall decrease in 2026 was fueled by a 10 percent drop in sheltered homelessness to 558 people compared to 619 in 2024. For BTG, unsheltered homelessness rose by two percent from 1,276 people in 2024 to 1,305 people in 2026. Both Hawai`i and Kaua`i experienced declines in their unsheltered counts, while Maui data showed a large increase of 113 people compared to 2024. Maui unsheltered data rose nearly 40 percent, from 285 to 398 people in 2026. Compared to 2024, the number of sheltered homeless residing in emergency or transitional facilities decreased nearly 10 percent from 619 to 558 people. Changes contributing to this 61-person reduction included increases of 38 and 17 people in Hawai`i and Kaua`i respectively, and a 116 person decrease in shelter utilization on Maui. Sheltered 2026 data for Hawai`i, Kaua`i, and Maui showed 229, 76, and 253 total sheltered respectively.
An assessment of the type of individuals experiencing homelessness in 2026 found that of the 1,863 total people counted, 1,396 were individuals, or 75 percent of the total one-day estimate. Individuals are defined throughout this report as people in households (single or multiple adults) without children under the age of 18. A total of 467 family individuals within 125 families were homeless, including 38 families and 135 people in these families living unsheltered. The number of unsheltered families identified in 2026 declined 12 percent compared to 2024. A total of 76 children were living unsheltered within these 38 families, falling by 10 compared to the 86 identified in 2024. In 2026, 87 sheltered families were counted (81 in emergency shelters and six in transitional housing) encompassing 332 total people, including 188 children and 144 adults. Sheltered family homelessness declined three percent to 87 families in 2026, down three families compared to 2024. Sheltered family homelessness decreased by two families for Maui and Hawaii Island relative to 2024.
A review of BTG homeless subpopulation data showed that the total number of self-reported homeless veterans increased 19 percent to 88 veterans compared to the 2024 total of 74. A total of 70 unsheltered veterans were identified in 2026, up 11 veterans relative to the 2024 count. Maui registered the largest increase in unsheltered veterans, up six compared to the 11 identified in 2024. An unsheltered count was not conducted in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic or in 2025 as decided by the BTG Board of Directors.
Data from 2026 showed an increase in chronic homelessness among individuals compared to 2024 data, rising 33 people to 707 chronic individuals. This equates to a five percent increase comparatively and shows that 51 percent of the 1,387 homeless individuals are chronically homeless in 2026. As a proportion of this population, the rate increased by three percent compared to 2024. The chronic homeless data presented in this report derived from self-reported responses to disability and length of homelessness questions. Nine homeless individuals residing in transitional housing were excluded from this calculation since people residing in transitional housing are excluded from this calculation per HUD’s definition. The rate of chronicity was lower among the 217 individuals residing in emergency shelters and for 2026 was 41 percent.
This report tabulates data on unaccompanied and parenting youth households (see Appendix 2, Tables 5 and 6). Unaccompanied youth are defined by HUD as people in households without children who are not part of a family with children or accompanied by their parent or guardian during their homelessness, and who are all 24 years of age or younger. BTG reported 33 unaccompanied youth households in 2026, with 25 living unsheltered. The 2026 unaccompanied youth household count decreased by 12 households compared to the 45 reported in 2024.
A parenting youth household is defined by HUD as a family household with all parents under the age of 25. In 2026, BTG reported a total of eight parenting youth households with 26 total people, including 13 children. The number of parenting youth households reported in 2026 decreased by one compared to 2024.
Given the numbers of homeless found in these counts and the state and federal initiatives to reduce homelessness, continued recommendations to improve the overall implementation of the count include the planning, supervision and execution of the count’s efforts, the training of count staff and volunteers, the handling and verification of all survey forms and electronic data, and continued data quality controls by outreach funders and the CoC.
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