The Salvation Army is opening a homeless shelter in downtown Hilo at the end of the summer, after creating an agreement with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and Hawaii Island Mayor Mitch Roth. 

“The Salvation Army Hawaii has proven to be a trusted source of food, shelter and care for those experiencing homelessness across our island,” said Mayor Mitch Roth in a news release. “Through this partnership, we aim to bolster our services in Downtown Hilo by providing much-needed overnight respite where houseless individuals can access safe and reliable care.” 

The State of Hawaii and County of Hawaii provided funding for the shelter. 

The Salvation Army will open the shelter in late August next to the Salvation Army Hilo Temple Corps, at 219 Ponahawai St. 

The shelter will be open for 12 overnight hours a day on a first-come, first-served basis. When it opens, the shelter will have 25 beds for overnight stays and portable toilets. The new Salvation Army Malama ‘Ohana Kitchen Mobile Trailer will provide meals. 

“Our intention is to open up our space to collaborators, partnerships and service providers to help us provide long-term housing and care solutions,” said Captain Sam LeMar, Hawaii County Coordinator for the Hilo Homeless Shelter. “We want to make sure we are doing the best we can to serve the needs of our community.”

For LeMar, his work with the Salvation Army is personal: “After a friend took me to a youth program, at 12, I knew I would be loved and get fed.”

The shelter’s staff will include case workers, shelter attendants and administrative staff. 

“This will be the first human touch, so they can network with service providers to meet their needs, like medicine, mental health, housing and employment,” says LeMar. “For the Salvation Army, we say, ‘Soup, Soap, and Salvation.’ We focus on meeting the physical and emotional needs — people are more than welcome to get soup and soap, and if they want to, they can also participate in the many community services we have that provide help and hope.”