Nonprofit Finds Success In Treating Mentally Ill Homeless People After Hawaii Loosened Law 0 The Institute for Human Services, a local nonprofit, has assessed at least 100 homeless people over the last 14 months, and has provided medication for about 30 — a significant increase.
A soft-spoken homeless woman who primarily stays in Honolulu’s Chinatown calmly welcomed the second dose of her medication from Dr. Chad Koyanagi, a psychiatrist with the Institute for Human Services.
The 59-year-old has been homeless for at least a decade, and the story she tells about herself changes frequently. On this Thursday afternoon, she says she grew up across the street from Hell’s Kitchen, a neighborhood in New York, and graduated from Kaimuki High School.
But she very clearly recalls the name of the medication Koyanagi gives her: Invega Sustenna, an injection used to treat schizophrenia.
Koyanagi, David Warman, an IHS program coordinator, and his assistant, Shona Cobb, have been providing outpatient medical treatment for a little over a year, as part of IHS’ Outreach Navigation Program, which has seen increasing success after recent changes to state laws.
