NMI homeless: 672

This structure in Chalan Kanoa houses a couple of homeless individuals. The structure has no doors, no windows, a tin roof, and only a cement floor to sleep on. (Kimberly A. Bautista)

Being homeless doesn’t only mean the lack of a roof over one’s head. It also includes those who’ve been forced to seek shelter, such as in havens for domestic violence victims, and those who live within homes that are unfit for human habitation.

By this definition, the CNMI has a dismaying number of homeless. Based on the latest tally of the Homeless Coalition, which it did in April, there are 672 individuals on Saipan that are homeless.

The coalition conducted the island’s first official homeless count last April 8 as a prerequisite to apply for the continuum of care grant, a grant that the coalition will use in order to carry out projects to assist the island’s homeless.

The coalition submitted its homeless count results last Friday, May 5, to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development as the first step in filing for the COC grant.

According to the statistics acquired from the coalition count, Saipan has 672 individuals who are homeless based on the U.S. Housing and Urban Development definition. The 672 homeless individuals translate to 257 homeless families in the Commonwealth.

This number includes individuals that are service-sheltered, individuals who live within homes that are unfit for human habitation, and people who are literally homeless.

According to the data, 24 people are living in service shelters provided by organizations in the Commonwealth. A total of 14 families were identified.

Sheltered and unsheltered homeless came in at 648 individuals. That included 243 families.

The coalition was unable to distinguish the exact number of literal homeless and the number of those who live in structures that are unfit for human habitation.

According to Homeless Coalition board member Jacob Muna, the submission of the homeless count gives the coalition the opportunity to avail of the COC grant.

If approved, the grant gives the coalition a sufficient amount of funds to carry out projects that are being proposed in order to help all the homeless scattered in the Commonwealth.

Many of the literal homeless included in the count were found sleeping along the private beaches of Saipan. Other literal homeless were from organizations that offer services like the Salvation Army NMI Chapter.

The at-risk homeless that live in substandard houses were found in abandoned structures in areas like Chalan Kanoa.

In Chalan Kanoa, a group of homeless individuals live in a structure that had been abandoned for years. The structure has no doors, no windows, no water, no plumbing, and no electricity. It only has a tin roof, cement walls, and a cement floor where the individuals slept on.

The individuals residing in that structure include two men and one woman. They hope that the count could possibly result in some sort of help.

“Hopefully the government will be able to help us in the way we live. We need help and we pray that the coalition will provide help for us,” said the woman.