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An old convent in Honokaa has been converted into permanent housing for kupuna dealing with homelessness on the Big Island.
Over 70 people attended the Wednesday blessing of Hale Ulu Lehua, including Mayor Kimo Alameda, state Rep. Matthias Kusch, and HOPE Services Hawaii founder Carol Ignacio.
"This signifies that it really does take a village. It takes all of us," Alameda said during his address at the ceremony, during which he said he was both "overwhelmed" and "grateful" for the project's result.
Ten elders without housing are expected to move into the bright and airy single-story North Hawaii home in October, according to representatives of HOPE Services Hawaii and their partner for the housing project, Honokaa's historic Our Lady of Lourdes Parish.
Wraparound services and case management will be available to the people who move in, according to HOPE Services.
The 10-bedroom renovated convent also features three newly updated shared bathrooms, an expansive shared kitchen, and coin-operated laundry for the kupuna in need that were identified by HOPE Services' outreach and medical teams, according to CEO Brandee Menino.
"We don't have any services in this community. The closest housing or shelter for homelessness is Hilo or Kailua-Kona," Menino said of serving the Hamakua Coast. "This is really our first footprint in the rural community."
Menino said the renovation and five-year lease on the property were jointly funded by a $250,000 grant from the Oak Foundation Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation and $250,000 from the state's Office of Homelessness and Housing Solutions, which sent Jun Yang, the governor's coordinator on homelessness, to the blessing.
"We are here today to talk about a portion of our vulnerable population who need a higher level of support due to issues arising from age, health, and safety concerns. ... Hawaii cares deeply for our kupuna, and Our Lady of Lourdes-supported kauhale offers this safe, stable and dignified living environment for kupuna experiencing homelessness," Yang said in his address, alluding to the state's Kauhale Initiative to impact homelessness.
The convent -- which went from housing nuns since the 1926 founding of the parish to offering weekly religious education to children after Sunday Mass for nine months of every year -- was identified as potential housing for people facing homelessness when Menino connected with the parish's head of council, John "J.J." Andrade, and head of financial council, Brenda DeLuz-Campbell, at a meeting over a year ago.
"This convent was underutilized. ... We were going to rent them another property we have that's been sitting, which is just a parish hall, and then I said, 'Brandee, why don't you go take a look at the convent?' and her face just lighted up," DeLuz-Campbell told the Tribune-Herald while standing in the large room she sponsored and decorated ahead of the blessing. "It's not only a financial thing for our parish, it's from the heart. We're helping people in the community."
The building received substantial upgrades to turn the former classrooms into suitable permanent housing for the elderly. In addition to upgraded plumbing and electrical systems, new floors were added to the hallways, walls were knocked down to more than double the size of the kitchen for shared meals, the laundry was moved from the basement to the main floor, and the three bathrooms were fully redone to meet Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and offer more space.
"Those sisters must have been really tiny," Menino said with a laugh as she recalled the very small shower stalls in the original bathrooms.
The ramp offering easy access to the property for mobility-impaired kupuna was the only section of the home still under construction at the time of the blessing, but is expected to be completed by October, Menino said.
Walter Silva, a resident of HOPE Services Hawaii's Sacred Heart affordable housing in Pahoa that opened in 2023, told the crowd that the housing he received allowed him to regain his health and change his life.
The 10 bedrooms were sponsored and beautifully decorated by local groups like HFS Federal Credit Union, Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union, the Veterinary Associates of Waimea and Waiakea Water, which sponsored two rooms. The parish's deacon also sponsored a room, along with Ignacio, parish leaders Andrade and DeLuz-Campbell, and parishioners including Vince and Jane Keelan, who sponsored a room in honor of their son, Xavier, who passed away two years ago.
Vince Keelan approached Andrade and Menino after the blessing with an idea that the parish could come cook dinner for the kupuna living there on several occasions, including a welcome dinner when they first arrive and special dinners to mark birthdays. Andrade and Menino were both happily in agreement with the idea.
"To the kupuna who are going to live here," Andrade said in his address during the blessing ceremony, "may you never be homeless again."