A Hawaiian blessing was held this morning for the new Kaneohe Joint Outreach Center medical clinic in advance of an open house for the community on Saturday.

The center, housed in a state building next door to the police station on Waikalua Road, is expected to serve as a one-stop shop for the homeless on the Windward side of Oahu.

Besides a walk-in medical clinic, it will also offer housing, employment and case management services, as well as referrals to drug abuse and mental health treatment services. It will also provide clothing, personal hygiene items and food supplies.

PHOTO GALLERY >> Blessing at new homeless medical clinic

“Each person or family that is struggling to access stable housing needs a tailored solution to help them overcome their specific obstacles,” said state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole in a news release. “Hospital emergency staff are great at addressing immediate health concerns, but they aren’t set up to offer ongoing care and support — even though the need is great. Kaneohe JOC is going to be able to care for immediate patient needs and provide referrals to services that will improve the patient’s situation overall like continuing treatment or case management for those who need it.”

The new clinic, modeled after one already opened in Chinatown, is a three-year pilot program expected to alleviate the volume of homeless seeking medical care at hospital emergency rooms.

It was made possible by a public-private partnership, led by state legislators including Keohokalole, Lisa Kitagawa, and Scot Matayoshi, who worked to bring the Hawaii Homeless Healthcare Hui (H4) to Kaneohe. Both the Chinatown and Kaneohe centers are operated by H4.

The Windward side has the second highest number of unsheltered individuals that are part of a family on the island, according to the Institute for Human Services.

Connie Mitchell, executive director of IHS, said the Kaneohe clinic is expected to serve more families, including children, and is located in an ideal hub near the police and fire stations and a state Department of Human Services benefits office.

For many Windward side homeless, she said, traveling over the Koolaus to seek services is a barrier, so it is ideal to have a center in Kaneohe, as well as other parts of the island to serve the needs of different communities.

Support and funding for the Kaneohe JOC came from many donors, including Alexander & Baldwin, First Hawaiian Bank Foundation, Hawaii Community Foundation, Harold K. L. Castle Foundation, IHS, Kamehameha Schools and others.

The community open house at the Kaneohe JOC, 45-260 Waikalua Road. is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.