The “jewel in the crown” of Gov. Josh Green’s kauhale initiative for the homeless was offloaded to a Kalihi church. The support services disappeared as well. 

Over four decades, the losses piled up — prison, homelessness, illness, children taken by the state — and eventually, death. But the survivors would find sobriety.

The audit followed Civil Beat reporting that found irregularities in the state’s kauhale initiative.

An impact report led the council to demand an audit of how $30 million had been spent. Now they are worried about starving crucial programs.

Violators could be fined up to $2,000 or jailed for up to a month if found with shopping carts under this proposal.

Part of the facility is expected to remain open during renovations, which are expected to cost $18 million. 

Programs the federal government has long supported to combat homelessness have fallen out favor.

The Green administration is moving quickly despite Native Hawaiian concerns that the homeless project will push out Hawaiians who have been waitlisted for decades.

The CORE program was started in 2021 and has changed its focus repeatedly since then, confounding efforts to gauge its effectiveness.

Meanwhile, keiki homelessness has shot up 43% since 2022, a new report shows.