
The Inaugural
Childhood Homelessness Symposium
February 25, 2025 • 8 am – 3:30 pm
Queen's Conference Center • Honolulu, HI
Join local and national experts to hear about innovative solutions and best practices to address childhood homelessness, one of Hawaiʻi’s most urgent — but often hidden — challenges.
Organized by Family Promise of Hawaiʻi, this first-of-its-kind gathering will bring together homeless service providers, organizations serving children and families, advocates, policymakers, and all who are working to ensure every child has a home.
Breakout sessions will address cutting-edge ideas, issues for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, early education, domestic violence, and more. Come together to learn about the research, hear about innovative solutions, and connect with a community dedicated to creating a Hawaiʻi where every child has a home.
Featured National Speakers
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Based in Washington, Mehret Tekle-Awarun, Managing Director of Building Changes, will share how her state’s Dept. of Education has created an innovative fund for homelessness services.
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Gwen Battis, Project Manager of the Denver Basic Income Project, will share about their community’s cutting-edge universal basic income pilot.
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National Family Promise CEO Cheryl Schuch will share why children experiencing homelessness are uniquely vulnerable, and Regional Director Stacy Pollard will share federal public policy updates.
Register Today!
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Symposium Schedule
See full schedule | Learn more about our speakers (coming soon)
7:30 – 8 am: Registration and Continental Breakfast
8-9 am: Public Policy Panel
This panel is free to attend. Choose the "Public Policy Breakfast Only" option.
9:15-9:45 am: Welcome and Opening Plenary
Featuring Family Promise national CEO Cheryl Schuch.
10-11 am: Breakout Sessions
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Strategies to Address Childhood Homelessness Among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
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Cutting-Edge Ideas to End Childhood Homelessness
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Early Learning and Education for Children Experiencing Homelessness
11:15 am – 12:15 pm: Lunch and Keynote
12:30-1:30 pm: Breakout Sessions
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Low Barriers, Trauma-Informed Care, and Emerging Best Practices
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Voices of Families with Lived Experience of Homelessness
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Toxic Stress, ACEs, and Health Impacts of Childhood Homelessness
1:45-2:45 pm: Breakout Sessions
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Domestic Violence and Childhood Homelessness
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Homelessness is a Housing Problem
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Strengthening Families and Building Resilience
3-3:30 pm: Closing Plenary and Wrap-Up
Sponsorship Opportunities
Sponsorship opportunities are available!
About the Symposium
Despite common misconceptions, young children are at a greater risk of experiencing homelessness than people of any other age — with infants under age 1 at the greatest risk. Thousands of children in Hawaiʻi experience homelessness annually. In just the past year, there was a 19% increase in children and families experiencing homelessness on Oʻahu.
For young children, homelessness can disrupt brain development at a critical time, with impacts on education, health, and well-being that can be lifelong. At the core of this issue is Hawaiʻi's housing affordability crisis. For every 100 low-income families, there are only 40 housing units that are available and affordable to them.
This one-day symposium, the first of its kind in Hawaiʻi, will bring together leaders, community organizations, service providers, businesses, advocates, and all who are concerned about this urgent issue facing Hawaiʻi’s keiki. The symposium will highlight experts across sectors — like early childhood education, housing development, domestic violence, and public policy — to create a unified blueprint for our community to better serve children and families experiencing homelessness, and ultimately to ensure that every child has a home.
The symposium is hosted by Family Promise of Hawaiʻi, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness for families with children. FPH provides interim housing, emergency rental assistance, case management, and community engagement on Oʻahu and Maui, serving hundreds of families annually.