(BIVN) – The Salvation Army Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division plans to open a homeless shelter in downtown Hilo later this summer.

The shelter will be located at 219 Ponahawai Street, next to The Salvation Army Hilo Temple Corps. It is scheduled to open in late-August.

The shelter will be open for 12 overnight hours a day on a first-come, first-served basis.

“We will begin with 25 beds, providing overnight stays, meals and portable toilets, on site,” said Captain Sam LeMar, Hawaii County Coordinator for the Hilo Homeless Shelter, in a news release. “Our intention is to open up our space to collaborators, partnerships, and service providers to help us provide long-term housing and care solutions,” says LeMar. “We want to make sure we are doing the best we can to serve the needs of our community.”

The previously announced Salvation Army Malama ‘Ohana Kitchen Mobile Trailer will be providing the meals.

Photo courtesy Salvation Army

“The Salvation Army Hawaiʻi has proven to be a trusted source of food, shelter, and care for those experiencing homelessness across our island,” said Mayor Mitch Roth. “Through this partnership, we aim to bolster our services in Downtown Hilo by providing much-needed overnight respite where houseless individuals can access safe and reliable care.”

From the Salvation Army news release:

For LeMar, he knows personally just how much The Salvation Army can be a lifeline: “After a friend took me to a youth program, at 12, I knew I would be loved and get fed.”

As leaders and organizations look to address homelessness across Hawaii, LeMar hopes that the Hilo shelter will meet a critical need to serve the houseless community. Staffing on site will include case workers, shelter attendants, and administrative staff, to provide wrap-around care. “This will be the first human touch, so they can network with service providers to meet their needs, like medicine, mental health, housing, and employment,” says LeMar. “For the Salvation Army, we say, ‘Soup, Soap, and Salvation’. We focus on meeting the physical and emotional needs – people are more than welcome to get soup and soap, and if they want to, they can also participate in the many community services we have that provide help and hope.”

Funding for The Hilo Shelter was provided by the State of Hawaii and the County of Hawaii.