Today, the Community Outreach Response and Engagement (C.O.R.E.) team expanded its continuous homeless outreach efforts into the Pearl City and Waipahū communities. The team, comprised of Emergency Medical Technicians and Community Health Workers walked the streets, engaging a couple dozen homeless individuals.

The C.O.R.E. team consisted of seven Community Health Workers and seven EMTs with one ambulance and two response vehicles.

Honolulu City Councilmember Brandon Elefante joined the health professionals to see first hand the challenges facing those living on the streets which make-up his Council District.

“Today, we had an opportunity to directly assist residents in the ʻAiea, Pearl City and Waipahū communities with the City’s Crisis, Outreach, Response and Engagement (C.O.R.E.) program. C.O.R.E. is normally assigned to areas in town, and we wanted to bring these same life-changing services to District 8 as there is a great need in the community for it,” said Councilmember Elefante.

The C.O.R.E. crews made contact with people living at Blaisdell Park, in bushes along the shoreline, under bridges, near several local businesses and neighborhood schools.

“I am truly grateful for the many helping hands that are dedicated to responding to the medical, mental and social needs of houseless individuals. I would like to express a warm mahalo to the C.O.R.E. team that was formed under the City’s Emergency Services Department. Their efforts in providing support to vulnerable populations across the island shows that we can all be part of strengthening compassion and care in our community, which allows Oʻahu to be a safer place for all.”

Between December and July C.O.R.E has encountered 160 participants. Fifty of whom we meet with weekly. C.O.R.E. has placed 25 participants into emergency, transitional shelters, and boarding homes, including a number of people who had been homeless in excess of three years.

“As C.O.R.E. continues to expand and gain more traction, our partnerships with community leaders will become more and more important and today is a perfect example of policy makers taking serious to steps to make real changes,” said Director Jim Ireland of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department.

C.O.R.E. is based in Chinatown but has expanded to Waikīkī, Kailua, and the leeward coast. Crews will continue to make contact with the individuals they met with today.