Lava erupts from Halema'uma'u crater within the summit caldera Kaluapele, at the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, U.S. March 26, 2025. (Photo by Marco Garcia/Reuters)

Hawaii has long been known as a tropical paradise, but in recent years another image has intruded into the state's carefully crafted one of idyllic beaches and relaxing resorts: homelessness. The number of homeless people has grown in recent years, leaving the state with 487 homeless per 100,000 people, the nation's highest rate per capita, above New York and Nevada, according to federal statistics. Many of the homeless, however, defy the stereotype of the mentally ill or drug addicted. They are families, with men and women who work full-time jobs. They are struggling to get a foothold in a place with a high cost of living and low wages. Here: in this Thursday, August 27, 2015 photo, a homeless man drinks water while sitting on the beach at Ala Moana Beach Park located near Waikiki in Honolulu. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

A mahout bathes his elephant in the river Sabarmati on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, India May 21, 2017. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

United States Air Force Academy graduates cheer as the United States Air Force Thunderbirds fly over the graduation for the Class of 2021 at Falcon Stadium on May 26, 2021 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark A. Milley gave the commencement address to the 1,019 graduates from the academy. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

Christmas baubles shaped as Santa Clauses wearing protective masks are pictured amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Eichenau, Germany, November 26, 2021. (Photo by Michaela Rehle/Reuters)

Miesha Tate, UFC women's bantaweight shows the media how to fight during a UFC press conference at Akasaka Garden City on August 26, 2014 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

A timber truck driver (L) dressed as Father Frost is saluted by a soldier at the Kremlin's Spasskiye (Saviour) Gate in Moscow, Russian Federation, on December 24, 2013. (Photo by Vyacheslav Prokofyev/ITAR-TASS/ZUMA Press)

An opposition supporter gestures with a knife during clashes with police in Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya on October 26, 2017. Kenyans trickled into polling stations today for a repeat election that has polarised the nation, amid sporadic clashes as supporters of opposition leader ignored his call to stay away and tried to block voting. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)