Canal clean-up adjacent to the Hilo Bayfront Soccer Fields has been completed

The collaborative effort involved the Hawaiʻi County Department of Public Works, Department of Parks and Recreation, Office of Housing and Community Development, and various community partners. Individuals who had been occupying the canal were offered a safe respite area on a nearby property managed by the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the residual debris was properly disposed of.

The unnamed temporary respite area offers netted Quickshades for former canal occupants to store their items and receive vital services. Since the inception of this initiative on Friday, July 5, HOPE Services Hawaiʻi, Neighborhood Place of Puna, and Project Vision Hawaiʻi have been providing services to the canal’s former occupants. Security measures will be in place to monitor the respite area and ensure compliance with Parks and Recreation rules. Individuals who violate these rules will be removed from the area and will face enforcement actions as outlined in the Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes and Hawaiʻi County Code.

As each resident receives support to transition from the canal area to permanent or emergency housing, their space in the respite area will be dismantled and removed. This temporary site will be in place only through the end of July and is exclusively for individuals who were occupying the canal area at the time of the clearing. It will not be open to other individuals experiencing homelessness in downtown Hilo.

Photo credit: Office of Mayor Roth