Combined with previous efforts in Waimanalo, Kualoa and Kahuku, the coalition has thus far identified 371 people who need help.

"We don't think we have a good idea of what we're really dealing with," said Robert Na-niole, coalition member and Honolulu Community Action Program Windward district manager. "As we bring people together we'll find out more and we'll be able to have more of an impact."

Those who came in search of help Tuesday ranged from the chronically homeless, to people who recently lost their housing and still others at risk of losing their homes. Some came for free food and supplies, while others sought services such as health coverage, job placement and training and legal advice.

David Cannel, 52, said he is at risk of losing his $800-a-month apartment because it has been sold. He said he can't find a replacement home that he can afford and has purchased an old Volkswagen bus to live in. Cannel said he worries how the situation might affect his teenage son and hopes the boy can live with his grandparents.

After months of searching and competing with 50 or more people at a time for an apartment, he said he's given up hope that he'll find something in his price range. Both he and his wife are disabled and living on Social Security and disability benefits, Cannel said.

He tried to put a positive spin on his situation but worried that a new state law aimed at discouraging people from living on public property might make him a criminal just because there isn't any place that he can afford to rent.

Act 50 allows police to ban people for an entire year from the public areas where they are cited. Violation of the ban could result in arrest leading to a $1,000 fine and/or 30 days in jail.

"I've been on an emotional roller coaster for two weeks," Cannel said. "Basically I'm full of rage inside that the system has come to this point."

Many of the homeless said they learned about the outreach through members of Hope Chapel Olomana, who visited beaches and parks to pass out fliers and invite people to attend.

Yamamoto said she doesn't mind living on the beach and would hate to live in town because her job is in Kailua, but she knows she needs a more permanent location for her granddaughter's sake.

"I gotta start thinking of her because she has to go to school," she said. "We need an address so she can go to preschool."

While there was little hope that participants would find a home from the outreach project Tuesday, at least one veteran was offered a bed at a Kalaeloa facility, several people were told where to go to get camping permits and two families were offered a back yard in which to pitch their tents, Naniole said.

The advantage to having the coalition run the outreach is the agencies are all in one place and can refer clients to the right people — who may be sitting across the hall, said Rick Velasquez, program director from the Homeless Veterans Program.

"We realize we can't do it all, so the biggest thing we've done is partnering," he said.

Also among the homeless that day was Bernie (last name withheld by request) and her husband, her 27-year-old daughter who is handicapped and in a wheelchair, another daughter and two grandchildren. All of them were living together and became homeless June 30 because the landlord wanted more money and they couldn't afford it.

The high cost of housing has prevented them from finding a home. She said she would settle for a trailer park in the mountains.

The family now must apply for camping permits and break camp for a mandatory two days a week while the city cleans the area before setting up again, a difficult task for the family of six, she said. But Bernie, 49, is not looking for a handout.

"I don't want welfare," Bernie said. "I'm applying for housing and that's all I need. I can bake bread and take care of myself."