MA'ILI — "Hooweee," Ka'ui Kapu, a Wai'anae Community Center outreach worker, calls out in a high pitch as she approaches a tent at Ulehawa Beach Park No. 3, ensuring no one is surprised by her approach.

Kapu is accompanied by co-worker Georgette Aki, Aimee Shinsato and Aaron Peterson.

The foursome was one of six groups, some with 12 people but most with six to 10 members, who canvassed a 16-mile stretch of beaches from Nanakuli to Makua Sunday evening.

Sunday's Honolulu County survey is part of an unfunded, federally mandated point-in-time homeless count taken in all 50 states during the last week in January. Teams counted homeless on Kaua'i on Friday, and head counts on Maui and the Big Island will be conducted Wednesday.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development requires that the counts be conducted every two years, and strict HUD guidelines are used throughout the nation.

On an overcast day with a gentle but cool breeze from the ocean and no trace of a normal gorgeous sunset on the horizon, Kapu and Aki served as the point people for Shinsato, an AmeriCorps volunteer. They asked survey questions of every fifth person, and Peterson counted heads.

"Howzit," Kapu said to a woman who got up from a group of five people seated near a retaining wall.

Kapu explained what they were doing and, with the woman's approval, cleared the way for Shinsato to ask questions.

The woman was asked how many people live at the campsite, to which she replied "two," and then chuckled as Shinsato read from a sheet and asked, "Are you 18 years or older?"

"I look under 18?" the woman said kiddingly to Shinsato. "I happy you asked."

The survey has 10 questions but there was little time to ask them all if the group was to cover their assigned areas from 6 to 10 p.m.

The questions include: Are you alone or with other people? Where did you sleep last night? Where will you sleep tonight? How many times have you been homeless in the past three years? How long have you been homeless this time?

The most difficult question to ask, because of time constraints: "Have you been diagnosed with or received treatment for any of the following conditions in the last three years?" The surveyor has to rattle off seven conditions, starting with "severe conditions such as diabetes or hypertension" and continuing past "schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, or other severe mental illness."

The respondent has to listen to all the choices so the surveyor can mark down a yes or no on the sheet.

Lucky if a surveyor has 10 minutes with a respondent, let alone time for that question.

The questionnaire appears to be too long, too wordy and too complicated though the information it seeks for the "point in time" is pertinent.

As Kapu and Aki demonstrated, the key is all in the approach. "Hooweee, howzit," is the icebreaker, followed by a much shorter explanation about the survey than what is recommended on the standard form.

Not everyone at Ulehawa Beach Parks Nos. 2 and 3, on Farrington Highway between Ka'ukama Road and Ho'okele Street, was willing to participate, but all were respectful of the workers.

Peterson counted 40 people in the first 45 minutes. "I know numbers are higher than I thought but the one thing that surprised me was that I did not expect to see so many babies."

Hawai'i's estimated cumulative sheltered and unsheltered homeless population in 2005 totaled 5,935. The results of this year's count are expected to be released in a few months.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.