Our History
The Peanut Butter Ministry begins at 1128 Smith Street.
Thirty volunteers man a storefront seven days a week, 14 hours a day, from 8 am to 10 pm, offering peanut butter sandwiches, coffee, temporary shelter, alcoholism education/support, and realistic, adaptive and positive (RAP) counseling. Volunteers help connect individuals with job opportunities and sort out government assistance applications. The site serves as an address for homeless individuals to have mail delivered to. Around 60 people a day receive help.
1980
IHS moves from 49 S. Beretania St. to 127 N. Beretania St., serving approximately 75 to 100 persons daily.
Two doctors from Kalihi-Palama Health Center begin volunteering, offering mental and physical health care.
1982
IHS incorporates as a 501c3, private, non-profit organization.
Fr. DuTeil advocates on behalf of an IHS client in court, helping him receive welfare benefits: “His application initially was rejected because he couldn’t say when and where he was born–other than on a ‘neighboring planet’–and because he had no social security number.”
1983
IHS serves 100 meals at breakfast, 175 for lunch, and 225 for supper.
Honolulu City Council estimates the County has between 300 and 500 homeless persons.
1985
IHS moves to 840 Iwilei (Iwilei Fire Station) while Sumner St. Shelter is finishing construction.
Two professional vocational counselors offer employment services every Monday.
IHS serves 500 meals a day, and 130 guests sleep at the service center.
1986
Sumner Street Shelter opens
With the help of Mayor Frank Fasi’s administration, the City & County of Honolulu, the federal government, local foundations and individual funders, the first IHS shelter is built at 350 Sumner Street. It is the first homeless shelter on Oahu; the Sumner shelters men, women, and children in need of a safe place to rest and a warm meal. Churches, businesses, and restaurants took turns in the kitchen and served an average of over 4,000 meals weekly (570 meals a day). The shelter doubles IHS’ capacity for overnight stays to 250-300 people/night.
1990
Rev. Richard Rowe serves as IHS Executive Director for one year’s term.
1992
Deborah Morikawa begins serving as IHS Executive Director.
1993
Fr. DuTeil and his wife, Roberta “Tutu Bert,” retire and move to Texas to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
1997
Surrounded by loved ones in Texas, Fr. Claude DuTeil passes away on January 23, 1997. His legacy lives on in the mission of IHS.
Lynn Maunakea begins her term as IHS Executive Director.
IHS opens the Kaaahi Women’s and Family Shelter
Mayor Jeremy Harris and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation converts the G. Von Hamm Textiles factory into the Kaaahi Women’s and Family Shelter less than a mile from the Sumner shelter. The Sumner St. Shelter becomes the Sumner Men’s Shelter. On an average night, 80 single women and 30 families, including 60 children, stay at the new shelter.
1999
Across IHS’ two locations: 2,574 people are helped throughout the year, and 900 meals are served daily.
2004
IHS receives CARF accreditation for community-based case management
2005
Sherry Chong serves as Interim Executive Director
2006
Connie Mitchell joins as IHS Executive Director
IHS begins expansion of homeless services, including case management, housing, employment and two health and wellness centers at the Kaaahi and Sumner shelters.
2007
IHS begins expansion of homeless services, including case management, housing, employment and two health and wellness centers at the Kaaahi and Sumner shelters.
IHS launches a pilot Community Re-Entry Program for recently released homeless individuals with substance abuse problems. 513 people assisted via Housing Placement.
IHS serves 2,700 people across two shelters.
2010
Through IHS’ Housing Program, 214 people are prevented from experiencing homelessness. An average of 635 meals a day are served, totaling 231,686 for the year, and 1,268 people stay at IHS shelters.
2012
Adjacent to the Kaaahi Women’s and Family Shelter, the Kaamahu Housing and Employment Service Center opens as a drop-in hub for homeless outreach, housing placement, and employment assistance.
IHS establishes drop-in services at the Waialua Community Service Center on the North Shore.
2013
IHS opens the Veterans Engaged in Transition (V.E.T.) House in Kalihi Valley in partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
2014
Aided by a federal grant facilitated by Senator Dan Inouye, the Kaaahi Shelter rooftop is transformed into an urban agriculture training and education center and launches Taking Root, IHS’ first pre-vocational training featuring Hawaii’s first rooftop aquaponic system with classes for IHS clients and the community.
IHS joins Senator Suzanne Chun Oakland and others in advocating for Hawaii’s inaugural Assisted Community Treatment (ACT) in the State Legislature in Hawaii.
2015
City-funded Hale Mauli‘ola Housing Navigation Center at Sand Island opens. As the first shelter of its kind on Oahu, Hale Maul‘iola’s units are retrofitted out of commercial shipping containers, with a capacity for 76 guests each night. Expands to a Capacity of 100 in the following year. This site shelters individuals and couples and their pets and offers parking for guests who may have been living out of their cars.
IHS expands services into Waikiki & Moiliili with outreach, transportation and a monthly drop-in center.
Governor David Ige issues Emergency Proclamation on Homelessness.
2016
In partnership with Queens Medical Center and HomeAid Hawaii, IHS opens two Medical Respite Homes in Kalihi and Makiki. Named in honor of Fr. DuTeil’s widow Roberta, affectionately called “Tutu Bert,” the medical respite homes care for homeless individuals discharged from hospitals. The Tutu Bert Homes provide specialized shelter for homeless individuals to receive necessary home care for full recovery and assistance. During its first year of operation, the Kalihi location hosts 109 homeless guests.
2017
In response to a need identified by outreach and the Queens Medical Center Behavioral Health Department, the Kalihi-Uka Recovery Home (KURH) opens, expanding IHS’ capacity to shelter homeless individuals in recovery treatment for substance use disorders.
2018
In partnership with the State’s Adult Mental Health Division, the Homeless Intensive Case Management Plus (HICM+) Program launches as an intervention and targets service to chronically homeless clients who frequently use emergency services or are arrested.
IHS collaborates with a coalition of churches, a Hawaiian Civic Club and the YMCA to establish a monthly outreach fair on the Windward side to help homeless and at-risk households.
Supportive services–Case Management and Children’s and Family Program–begin at Kahauiki Village, a permanent affordable housing complex for formerly homeless families.
2019
The third Medical Respite “Tutu Bert” Home opens in Kailua.
IHS started managing two community re-entry homes, Beacon of Hope for women and House of Redemption for men. These locations allow soft landings for those formerly incarcerated, providing access to case management, employment services, housing navigation, substance use recovery programs, and medical care.
IHS establishes weekly Waikiki Service Depot and evening outreach.
Assisted Community Treatment is amended to allow greater implementation, making it possible for more chronically homeless individuals needing mental health intervention access to critical care.
2020
A fourth Medical Respite “Tutu Bert” Home and a second Community Re-entry Home for men opens in Pearl City.
Sponsored by the Hawaii State Department of Health, IHS operates the Temporary Quarantine and Isolation Center (TQIC) to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the homeless community.
Sumner Men’s Shelter was temporarily turned into a quarantine shelter when 62 guests and staff tested positive for COVID-19. IHS expands its medical capacity with an in-house medical team and the first medical director.
In partnership with the Honolulu Police Department and the City of Honolulu, IHS begins servicing the Homeless Outreach and Navigation for Unsheltered Persons (HONU) program at Ke‘ehi Lagoon.