![Click to enlarge homeless in hawaii](/image/s14/280239/dismantling_20encampment.jpg)
A full-time fast-food worker, Kaneso had bad experiences at shelters before and was hesitant to live in another, ending up instead in one of the nation's largest homeless encampments for two years. Desperate, she decided to try to get into a shelter.
Kaneso, a daughter and granddaughter made the long walk to one from their camp in a neighborhood between downtown Honolulu's high-rises, the swaying palm trees of a beachfront park and the glittering tourist mecca of Waikiki.
A shelter worker helped several people from the camp find a spot inside to live.
She wasn't as lucky: There was no more space for families.
"Where can I go?" Kaneso asked.
Homelessness in Hawaii has grown in recent years, leaving the state with 487 homeless per 100,000 people, the nation's highest rate per capita, ahead of New York and Nevada, according to federal statistics.
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