David Kaluhiwa's eyes well up when he recounts living at Kualoa Beach Park with his wife and children.

"The people would fight and drink," he said. "They siphoned my gasoline." When it rained, the family had to deal with flooding and a leaky tent.

Enter Family Promise of Hawai'i, an organization that believes if it takes a village to raise a child, it may take a network of churches and temples to lift up family hit by hard luck.

After six months on the beach, someone tied to the nonprofit group urged the Kaluhiwas to apply for a slot in a new program that helps homeless families make the transition to more permanent housing arrangements.

In early March, the Kaluhiwas and two other families, 14 people in all, were enrolled in the program, which now includes a total of 26 churches and temples.

Thirteen congregations have agreed to take weeklong turns four times during the year when they will provide food and housing for the three families at their places of worship. The other congregations are committed to assisting with those efforts.

"You're taking a group of congregations together," said Kent Anderson, director of the local Family Promise affiliate. "One group may not be able to do much on their own. But let's spread the burden; let's work together."

During daytime hours, family members go to work and school. Those without jobs spend time at a centralized "family center" that operates out of a house in Kailua, which also doubles as Family Promise's headquarters. There, family members can speak to a case worker about job, educational and housing opportunities while kids can relax in a homey setting.

The center also offers shower facilities and a laundry area. In addition, it serves as a place the families can retrieve mail and telephone messages.

"This gives them 24-hour coverage," Anderson said.

A Family Promise van, which can carry up to 14 passengers and a driver, shuttles the families back and forth, from the center to host congregation sites.

"We're not a shelter," Anderson said. "Our focus isn't to provide roofs and food for families indefinitely. We're a short-term, partnering organization with our families, to just help them get through this transitioning period."

The Family Promise program was initiated 18 years ago in New Jersey. There are now 118 "networks" in 38 other states. The organization maintains that it has helped thousands, and that 80 percent of the families assisted secured and held onto a permanent housing arrangement for at least a year.

'CLEAN AND DRY'

Last week, the Kaluhiwas and the other two families were spending nights at Makiki's First Christian Church of Honolulu.

After a meal of sandwiches and ham-and-bean soup in the church basement dining hall, David Kaluhiwa, his wife and boys, Isai-ah and Mitchell, sat down to watch TV before turning their attention to homework.

While one parent helped Mitchell, 8, with word problems, the other worked with Isaiah, 9, on a scale model of a traditional Hawaiian ahupua'a system. The couple's 13-year-old daughter has been living with an uncle until the family's housing situation improves.

David Kaluhiwa, 47, is new to the carpentry industry, having been laid off as a city truck driver. He's taking classes so he can become certified. His 36-year-old wife is a healthcare worker who hopes to one day be a registered nurse.

A community meeting room behind the church is broken up with partitions to provide the families with some privacy. Separate rooms for each family is a requirement for congregations choosing to participate in the Family Promise program.

"It helps to keep the dignity of the family intact," Anderson said.

The family is grateful to the different congregations that are providing food and shelter.

"Being here gives us an opportunity to stay clean and dry," said Kaluhiwa's wife, who asked to be identified as "A." Kaluhiwa. "He does better at his job, so do I. And the boys do better in school."

It eats at David Kaluhiwa to see his family go without a place to call home.

"We're trying, we're really, really trying," he said, with a tinge of pain in his voice. "I want to be a role model for the kids."

The Kaluhiwas and the others enrolled in the program may continue with it as long as they show progress such as taking classes and filling out applications.

While on the Mainland the average family secures permanent housing within 48 days. Anderson said he expects longer enrollments here "just because the cost of living is so high." So far, the Hawai'i affiliate program helped one family find permanent housing while another was able to move in with relatives on the Mainland.

MEETING GOALS

The Kaluhiwas have set a goal of saving enough for at least two months' rental deposit by June 30. They're eager to move on, in part, so others can be given an opportunity to join Family Promise.

The family thanks volunteers they have met along the way for additional encouragement.

"They're a godsend," David said.

At First Christian Church, Pastor Jimmy Hutcherson and the Rev. Mike Johnston, along with parishioner Nick Kolivas — a volunteers and donations coordinator — helped put together last week's host plan. With an entire church membership of about 40, nearly everyone got involved.

The week's activities forged closer ties among church members and "helped to energize the church," Johnston said.

Family Promise accepts families that have no substance or spousal abuse issues.

Also, the program does not permit congregations to preach to the homeless families. Consequently, Anderson said, some churches have declined to take part in the program.

Hutcherson and Johnston acknowledge that at times they are a bit frustrated by the restriction on sharing their faith. "But this mission is all about helping the guests," Johnston said.

Margot Schrire, public relations manager for the Institute for Human Services and chairwoman of Partners in Care, a coalition of human service providers, said that the element of community involvement will be pivotal in successfully serving homeless families.

"I think the strength of the program is in the education and empowerment of the community to get involved in the solution," Schrire said. "Members of a congregation can actually feel like they're part of the solution. There is a mechanism for them to get involved, even if it's just one family at a time."

Anderson agreed, adding, "What we've noticed is that there are so many people who want to help, if you give them a clearly defined path."

Twenty-four of the 26 groups in Family Promise's current network are Judeo-Christian-based, while one is Jewish and another is Buddhist. Most are on the Windward side. The organization is now attempting to establish a second network of congregations to help needy families on the Honolulu side of the island.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.