County displays example of portable shelter

Subscribe Now Choose a package that suits your preferences.
Start Free Account Get access to 7 premium stories every month for FREE!
Already a Subscriber? Current print subscriber? Activate your complimentary Digital account.

A portable fiberglass shelter on the County of Hawaii lawn, 25 Aupuni St. in Hilo, is on loan from the First Assembly of God in Moanalua on Oahu after a Wednesday faith-based homelessness summit.

A portable fiberglass shelter on the County of Hawaii lawn, 25 Aupuni St. in Hilo, is on loan from the First Assembly of God in Moanalua on Oahu after a Wednesday faith-based homelessness summit.

The church paid for dome shipment to the summit and loaned it to the county for a week afterward.

It’s one of 10 used to house homeless families on church property.

A master plan being development to address homelessness is looking at domes as one option to provide temporary shelter, Mayor Harry Kim said in a county statement.

The master plan will include mental health, workforce development, health, hygiene, financial literacy and education services to counter the many reasons for homelessness.

The goal is for homeless families to get “affordable housing, jobs and a better future,” according to the county.

Each $9,500 dome can house a family of four. The developer, InterShelter, has promised to put Hawaii County “at the front of the production queue” if the county needs domes.