2006 Housing Policy Study: The Hidden Homeless and Households at Risk of Homelessness by SMS Research & Marketing Services, Inc.

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INTRODUCTION Since 1992, The State of Hawaii has conducted research on housing in Hawaii through the Housing Policy Study (HPS). One component of the HPS is the Housing Demand Survey. The HPS Housing Demand Survey is designed to measure several variables related to housing in Hawaii. One objective of this study, in cooperation with previous research, is to measure and track the number of hidden homeless households and households at risk for homelessness. Prior to 2002, research on homelessness was conducted as a separate study. In 2002, this study was included in the Housing Demand Survey. Figures from independent studies in 1992 and 1997 have been included in this report to allow for more detailed comparisons. DEFINITIONS Homelessness in the State of Hawaii exists overtly in the form of unsheltered homelessness and more covertly within households that are providing shelter for those who may otherwise be on the streets. Households may also be at risk of some form of homelessness due to a lack of financial stability. This study focuses on these latter two areas and the conclusions herein do not apply to the unsheltered homeless. Terminology At-Risk: Households in which members would become homeless in less than three months if they suddenly lost their primary source of income. Also called "precariously housed," these people are three monthly paychecks away from homelessness. Hidden Homeless: Households in which more than one family share accommodations. These households include families that are doubled up (two or more families or groups of persons who are related by birth, marriage or adoption) and those that are sharing (two or more families or groups whose members are not related by birth, marriage, or adoption). Adequately Housed: Households that are not classified as at-risk or hidden homeless. ESTIMATES Table 1 presents a comparable set of estimates for hidden homeless and at-risk persons and households in Hawaii from 1992 to 2006. The 2006 population estimates are taken from the SMS population model and all others come from official population counts. The number of persons per household has been adjusted to reflect actual household sizes'. ' In 1997, the number of persons in Hidden Homeless and At-Risk households was estimated by applying percentages for survey households directly to the estimated population of the State. This method involves the assumption that households in each category are the same size. The estimates have been adjusted to include differences in household sizes in Table 1. Hawaii Housing Policy Study,2006: Hidden Homeless and Households at Risk for Homelessness Page 1 ©SMS, Inc. February,2007