Over the past few months, dozens of homeless people have been spending the night at Kapi'olani Park, forming what residents say could be the largest homeless encampment ever in Waikiki.

Tourism officials and users of the landmark 200-acre park — at the gateway to the state's No. 1 tourist destination — are increasingly raising concerns about the situation and calling on nonprofits and government agencies to help.

"There's just lots and lots of tents set up," said youth soccer coach Shawn Ford, who is considering moving his practice site from Kapi'olani to another park if the homeless problem doesn't improve. "It's right next to the fields where the kids are playing. It's not a comfortable thing to see."

About 6:30 a.m. yesterday, more than 20 tents dotted Kapi'olani Park while dozens more people found refuge under canopy trees, on benches or at the bandstand. About 10 tents were set up in a large grassy field adjacent to the Waikiki Aquarium, where 55-year-old Lei Marquez was packing her belongings in a rusted shopping cart for storage during the day.

Marquez said she moved to Kapi'olani about two weeks ago from Waimanalo Beach Park, after she heard about the encampment from others. Since she's been at the park, she said, the number of tents has grown.

"They're all over," she said.

The Kapi'olani Park encampment is the latest wrinkle in a statewide homeless crisis that officials have been grappling with for more than two years. Since 2006, the state has opened several homeless shelters and appropriated tens of millions of dollars for homeless programs. The newest shelter officially opened this week in Wai'anae.

The actions have made a dent in the homeless population, but they haven't solved the problem.

In Waikiki, the issue has taken on new dimensions as residents and businesses worry whether the persistent homeless problem will stop tourists from coming back at a time when tourism is already down.

Diane Lum, of Manoa, walks around Kapi'olani Park almost every morning and said she has noticed the increase in the homeless over the past few months.

"I feel it's not very good for the tourists," Lum said.

'WORD OF MOUTH'

Social workers say there are no recent numbers to gauge how much the Waikiki homeless population has grown. A count conducted by University of Hawai'i students in April 2007 pegged the number at 206, up 49 from late 2006.

Alethea Rebman, president of the Kapi'olani Park Preservation Society, said homelessness has become a "big problem" and a "complicated social situation." She said a resident recently counted the number of homeless at the park one morning and came up with 175.

"Millions of visitors come here every year," said Lou Erteschik, vice chairman of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board, "and they all go back and tell the folks at home what they see. Word of mouth makes a difference."

Kapi'olani Park is a popular stop for tourists and residents alike, drawing more than 3 million people a year, according to the city.

Rick Egged, Waikiki Improvement Association president, said the discussion about homeless at Kapi'olani Park should focus on how to help those in the park — not whether their presence is hurting tourism.

"The real issue is what can we do to do more to address this problem," he said. "It can have an effect (on tourism), but this is an issue that is an issue for any major city."

Social workers say many of the homeless at Kapi'olani came from parks elsewhere on the island, either because they were forced out in the wake of city cleanups and new rules closing some parks at night or because they heard police weren't kicking homeless out of Kapi'olani at night.

City parks director Les Chang did not return calls for comment.

Maj. Greg Lefcourt, of the Waikiki police station, said the number of homeless has been building at Kapi'olani Park since the state Supreme Court struck down an "illegal camping" law for city parks in November.

The measure, which was largely aimed at stopping homeless from staying the night at parks, was struck down because it was too broad. In the absence of the law, and with no set hours for Kapi'olani, police have no grounds to kick people out of the park at night as long as they aren't breaking other laws.

That may soon change.

The City Council has passed a revised "illegal camping" law, which could go into effect as early as next month. Police now will be able to move the homeless at Kapi'olani out at night.

But Waikiki residents say evicting everyone from Kapi'olani could be problematic for the neighborhood, especially since the homeless community in the park has grown so large, and they warn that moving everyone out of the park could drive them onto the sidewalks and pavilions in Waikiki.

The revised law comes as the city is also moving forward with its islandwide campaign to clean up parks that have become havens for the homeless and institute new hours to keep the homeless out at night. Though that work has been centered on the Wai'anae Coast, it started two years ago at Ala Moana Beach Park, where some 200 homeless people were living.

It's unclear whether Kapi'olani will get similar treatment.

But there does not appear to be any interest in instituting night closure hours at Kapi'olani Park. And Lefcourt, of the Waikiki police station, said night hours would be very difficult to enforce because the park is so large.

In the wake of the closure of Ala Moana Beach Park at night, the state opened its Next Step shelter in Kaka'ako. But since, the state has hit several barriers in trying to set up a permanent homeless shelter in the urban core, chief among them a lack of funding and a dearth of available land.

SHELTER SPACE

And a new shelter alone likely won't solve the problem.

Some homeless won't go to shelters, for various reasons, advocates say.

In fact, though there are so many homeless on the streets in Honolulu, there is available shelter space thanks to shelters opening islandwide. The Institute for Human Services men's shelter in Kalihi has 95 openings and the IHS women's shelter on Ka'a'ahi Street has some 10 available beds.

The IHS family shelter has space for one family.

Darlene Hein, program director of the Waikiki Care-a-van, which offers medical supplies, food and other services to homeless islandwide, said mostly singles and couples are living in Kapi'olani Park, along with just a few families.

There were no homeless families in sight yesterday morning.

Justin Perez, a 17-year-old originally from Wai'anae, used to have his daughter in the park with him, but handed the 1-year-old over to his father because he was worried that the state would find him an unfit father.

About 7 a.m. yesterday, Perez, who has been in the park for about a month, stretched out on a comforter outside his tent to grab a little more rest before starting his day. He and his girlfriend share the tent made for one.

"We can't afford a place," said Perez, who is looking for a job.

He said he came to Kapi'olani after getting evicted from a hostel. He likes the park, he added, because he isn't bothered.