The HNN Investigates series: Hope for Hawaii Island, shines a light on the growing need for mental health services in Hawaii's most rural communities.
On Hawaii Island, officials estimate about half of the homeless population need psychiatric services. And data shows the island's homeless population is growing — jumping 45% in just five years.
Dr. Chad Koyanagi is the only psychiatrist in the state that takes his practice to the streets.
Over the past two decades, Koyanagi has treated scores of patients alongside a street medicine team on Oahu, providing them with psychiatric medication that allows them to regain control of their lives so they can get off the street and into housing.
It's that work that caught the attention of Hope Services, Hawaii Island's largest homeless service provider.
With their help, the doctor is now traveling to Hawaii Island every other Wednesday to head up the agency's new psychiatric street medicine program.
This series provides an in-depth look into the team's work, along with the need for more innovative partnerships to help those who need it most.
The series is hosted by Allyson Blair, an award-winning investigative reporter whose career has taken her all over the country and supported by photojournalist Jon Suyat.