Wai'anae Coast — Homeless folks living at Ma'ili Beach Park yesterday quizzed the managers who will run a new shelter near the Wai'anae Civic Center about living conditions, house rules and when people could start moving in.

Darryl Vincent, site director for U.S. Vets, met with some of an estimated 120 to 150 people living on the beach in that area yesterday and answered their questions. The state has hired his organization to operate the new emergency homeless shelter across from the fire station as part of its continuing response to a growing homelessness crisis along the Leeward Coast.

The first families are expected to move in as soon as Thursday.

Alice Greenwood, 61, asked what the organizers meant when they said people had to work to live there. She and about 20 others gathered yesterday after getting copies of the management contract that raised questions about what the shelter would offer.

"What about people just like me who have a herniated disc on my neck and lower back?" Greenwood asked. "Sometimes I need to take a rest."

Vincent assured her and any others with health problems that they could do work that suited their personal situations.

The case managers will work with people to find the best fit for them, Vincent said. Sometimes, it could be a community service job riding the bus with elementary students who live in the shelter to ensure they get to school safely, he said.

"We're not looking to break your back or make you do cheap labor," he said.

He said the shelter will work with people to find jobs, training or treatment. "If you set low expectations, that's all you're going to get," he said.

Vincent confirmed that there are some absolutes at the shelters: No violence, no drugs, no alcohol. And there are bed checks, nightly meetings, and lights-on and lights-off times.

Vincent shook his head when one man asked if it was true that visitors to the shelter would need to talk to its residents "through a barrier gate," like in prisons.

And Vincent also quickly shot down another rumor: bathrooms and showers shared by both sexes. "They're separate," he said emphatically.

He also introduced Cathie Alana, a veteran social services worker, who has agreed to manager the new Civic Center shelter.

Alana, who lives on the Wai'anae Coast, said she agon-ized over the decision, knowing that she would sometimes be stepping into situations involving the sisters, children and aunties of neighbors and friends.

"I live in this community," Alana said. "I'm going to have to answer down the road."

Those who move in won't be able to cook in their living spaces, which will have room for foldaway beds, a shelf with a rod to hang clothes and not much else. But because they can't cook in their rooms, they will be served breakfast and dinner and will have barbecue areas outside near the common-area lanai where they can cook their own meals.

Greenwood worries about finding a way to move and store some of the household goods collected over the months of living on the beach. "Living on the beach, we accumulated a lot of things," Greenwood said, including couches, beds and even a refrigerator.

One woman shook her head with disappointment when Vincent said the shelter couldn't take pets.

But the others were pleased when Vincent told them many of the the rooms are already equipped with towels, a toiletry kit like at a hotel and foldaway beds.

Some work preparing the shelter continued yesterday even though it was a Sunday.

Greenwood said state homeless coordinator Kaulana Park arranged a field trip this week for her and the others to take a look at the shelter, which Vincent said expects to welcome the first five families by Thursday.

Greenwood, who is Native Hawaiian and looking for a place for herself and her 6-year-old adopted son, Makalii, said getting the facts gave some peace of mind.

"I think it's terrific," she said. "They're working with us."

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.