(BIVN) – Hawaii’s homeless crisis came to the forefront this year as state and local leaders tried to tackle the issue.

Under pressure to formulate a policy for handling the homeless population, newly elected mayor Harry Kim set his sights and one problematic area in particular: Old Kona Airport Beach Park.

After a few cancellations, the county finally organized it’s big cleanup. Many of the displaced homeless were ushered to a new location downtown. The temporary housing became known as Camp Kikaha.

Towards the end of the year, the county was working on plan to create a more permanent solution in Kealakehe.