RELIGION

Hawaii church deploying igloos to house homeless families

Associated Press
Published | Updated

In this Friday, April 22, 2016 photo, a dome-shaped shelter is shown at the First Assembly of God church in Honolulu. The church is looking into an unexpected solution to state's homeless crisis: they're planning to erect Alaska-made igloos to house homeless families. The snow-inspired dome-shape structures would appear at first glance to be a misfit among the island state's palm trees and sandy beaches, but their bright fiberglass exterior reflects the sun, shading those inside. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) (The Associated Press)

In this Friday, April 22, 2016 photo, the window of a dome-shaped shelter is shown at the First Assembly of God church in Honolulu. The church is looking into an unexpected solution to state's homeless crisis: they're planning to erect Alaska-made igloos to house homeless families. The snow-inspired dome-shape structures would appear at first glance to be a misfit among the island state's palm trees and sandy beaches, but their bright fiberglass exterior reflects the sun, shading those inside. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) (The Associated Press)

In this Friday, April 22, 2016 photo, Don Kubley, president and CEO of Juneau-based InterShelter, Inc., talks to The Associated Press inside one of his company's dome-shaped shelters at the First Assembly of God church in Honolulu. The church is looking into an unexpected solution to state's homeless crisis: they're planning to erect Alaska-made igloos to house homeless families. The snow-inspired dome-shape structures would appear at first glance to be a misfit among the island state's palm trees and sandy beaches, but their bright fiberglass exterior reflects the sun, shading those inside. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) (The Associated Press)

A church in Hawaii is looking to address the state's ongoing homelessness crisis. They've settled on a solution that at first appears better suited for the frigid winters of Alaska than the islands' tropical climate: igloos.

There's no risk of the dome-shaped structures melting. They're made of fiberglass.

It's not the first time igloos or domes have been deployed before for the homeless. In Los Angeles, about 35 people lived in a cluster of them called "Dome Village" for about a decade.

The igloos are the latest idea in the islands as the state struggles to deal with the nation's highest per capita homelessness rate. Honolulu is using shipping containers to house some people. And others are pushing traditional thatched "hale" homes.