On a sunny day in Stadium Park last week, nurse practitioner Joline Labbe and mental health specialists Craig Thistleton and Timothy Sweeney set up shop from the back of a van. One by one, women came forward to be served — having an arm bandaged, getting blood pressure checked or obtaining a new toothbrush.

The Waikiki Health Center's Care-A-Van workers, who provide medical care and social services to homeless men and women on O'ahu, say they find that homeless women have specific barriers to obtaining care.

Near Mokule'ia and other rural North Shore beaches, homeless women rarely seek basic health services because they have trouble getting to a hospital or clinic.

Throughout Ala Moana Park and Waimanalo, homeless women with children may not get routine preventive health services because childcare is unavailable.

And homeless women at Thomas Square and Makapu'u Beach frequently choose illness over treatment, for fear of leaving behind their belongings.

A lack of transportation and childcare, extended waiting times and the cost of health insurance can block homeless women from getting proper healthcare, said nurse practitioner Terri Zucchero.

That spurred the Waikiki Health Center to apply to the Women's Fund of Hawai'i for a grant targeting women's outreach and healthcare.

ONE OF 12 GRANTEES

Care-A-Van is among 12 organizations that were awarded grants from the Women's Fund of Hawai'i, a grantmaking foundation that supports women and girls statewide. The grantees will be recognized Thursday at Tea & Champagne, the organization's annual event, which also serves as an opportunity to learn more about the fund and the services it supports. (See box.)

"Women and families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, and living without a home increases health risks," Zucchero said. "So bringing these services to them where they are dwelling is our goal."

Established in 1987, Care-A-Van serves clients from its main office on South King Street, and through two vans — each staffed by at least one nurse practitioner and two outreach workers. A new mobile medical unit in the fall will step up outreach efforts, Zucchero said.

"I'm very passionate about this because I love these patients," said Zucchero, who has been with the program for two years. "They're humans. They're no different than anyone else. They just don't have houses."

FOCUS ON WOMEN

Care-A-Van's $2,225 grant from the Women's Fund of Hawai'i will be used to enhance its women's health outreach.

"Even though we (already) provide high-quality healthcare and social services, there wasn't a specific women's focus," Zucchero said. "We know that women have unique health needs and we want to service them innovatively."

The project will ensure that the Care-A-Van program offers women enhanced comprehensive services, including health screenings, physical exams, screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and family planning services.

"If we can help them be healthier so that they can help their children be healthier and they can have healthier families, to me that's what it's all about," Zucchero said.

Waikiki Health Center receives partial federal support for the care of its homeless patients, said Adrianna O'Donnell, director of development at the health center, but that doesn't cover the costs of all Care-A-Van seeks to provide.

"We rely very heavily on private funders, individual contributions and other campaigns throughout the year," O'Donnell said.

That's the kind of need that the Women's Fund of Hawai'i hopes to fill. The fund, now in its third year of providing grants, has distributed nearly $100,000 to organizations that provide services to women.

GREAT NEEDS

An assessment of women's status in Hawai'i compiled by the Women's Fund of Hawai'i this month found that many Hawai'i women could benefit from targeted programs. According to the organization's incoming chairwoman, Dr. Tyrie Jenkins, only 5.2 percent of the largest foundation grants went to programs for women and girls. Yet the needs assessment, compiled from census and other data, notes that almost half of single women with children in Hawai'i live in poverty. And in 2003, 35 percent of homeless people in Hawai'i were women.

Other troubling statistics: Girls are arrested at a higher rate in Hawai'i than anywhere else in the United States. In the Islands, arrests of girls account for 42 percent of overall juvenile arrests. And the rate of incarceration for women is increasing; from 2001 to 2004, the number of female inmates grew by 32.8 percent, while the male population rose by 9.8 percent.

The Women's Fund of Hawai'i seeks to address these issues by funding programs such as Surfrider Spirit Sessions, a program developed by The Oahu Surfrider Foundation to help at-risk teens under Family Court jurisdiction redirect their lives through surfing and other ocean-related activities, and Hulihia, which brings creative writing sessions to women prison inmates, building self-awareness and self-esteem.

"Our community will suffer if we let this disparity continue," Jenkins said, in a statement. "We urge everyone, but women in particular, to dedicate some portion of their philanthropic activity to help other women and girls. Research has shown that when women prosper, so do communities. "

Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@honoluluadvertiser.com.