The Kauaʻi County Housing Agency is requesting proposals for homeless services programs, with up to $500,000 in grant funding available.
The grant program is intended to support services for people currently experiencing homelessness and is guided by the county’s draft Five-Year Homeless Strategic Plan, completed in November. Priority will be given to proposals that demonstrate the greatest impact while showing fiscal stability.
Housing Director Adam Roversi said the county awarded six grants last year, with awards ranging from $19,500 to $200,000.
“This year, the total amount available is $500,000,” Roversi told Aloha State Daily. “The number and size of grants will depend on the proposals received.”
Roversi said several homeless services on Kauaʻi remain underfunded, including street outreach, emergency shelter, transitional housing, homelessness prevention and mental health services.
How success is measured will vary depending on the type of program funded, he said.
“A street outreach program would be assessed based on the number of individuals contacted and productively directed to new services,” Roversi said. “A transitional housing program would be judged on individuals successfully removed from the street and ultimately transitioned to permanent housing.”
The county is not reserving funding for specific populations such as unsheltered individuals or families, though Roversi acknowledged that family-focused programs tend to be better funded.
“We recognize a need to fund programs for individuals and transitional housing programs,” he said, adding that funding is not limited to those purposes.
Roversi said there has been no major shift in priorities from last year, but the request for proposals more clearly defines focus areas. Those include increasing coordination among service providers, expanding housing and shelter capacity, improving homelessness data quality, improving services for overrepresented groups such as Native Hawaiians and survivors of domestic violence and strengthening homelessness prevention efforts.
The Housing Agency will host informational webinars at 10 a.m. Jan. 6 and Jan. 12 to review the request for proposals and selection criteria. Questions may be submitted by email through Jan. 15, with responses posted online.
Applications for the Homeless Program grants must be submitted by Jan. 30. Funding decisions are expected during the week of Feb. 15. Grants will support projects operating from March 1, 2026, through Feb. 28, 2027.
More information, including the full request for proposals and a list of questions and answers, is available on the Kauaʻi County Housing Agency’s Homeless Programs webpage.
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