by Nick Delgado

Guam - As the numbers are being tallied to determine just how many homeless individuals there are on Guam, one village has seen a significant increase. The mayor says something has to be done soon.

"They come in here and then they have no place to stay and live in shacks or bus stops and, the government should do something, if they have no place here then why don't they go back to their island," explained Mangilao Mayor Nito Blas. He says there are at least one dozen homeless families in his village. Earlier this month he learned of a family that was living in an abandoned shack in Pagat.

He says for the past year, they've had no place to call home. "The mother is 68 years old and a 43-year-old son - both handicap and have no place to stay were staying in a shack up in the Pagat area, so I went to Catholic Social Services and invited to see if they can help these people," he said.

CSS has the Guma San Jose shelter for the homeless, but because there's limited space, not everyone's needs can be met. It's a problem the mayor hopes can be addressed, as he was presented with another unfortunate story by another homeless family who came knocking at his door. The family has been living in a Mangilao dugout for the past two weeks. A father, a mother and their 8-year-old daughter all-sleeping on the red dirt.

The mayor says most homeless in his village reside in the jungle areas. Although willing to help the family, he said they can't live in the dugout. KUAM News caught up with the woman who lives with her family there. She asked not to be identified, but briefly tells us her story.

"We just got kicked out from my aunties house so we just live at the small house in the baseball field...it doesn't feel right or feel good," he said.

Having a difficult time explaining her dilemma, she says she only hopes to find a way to help get her family back on their feet. The Guam Homeless Coalition reports nearly 1,800 homeless in the territory last year with majority being unsheltered individuals. CSS also hopes to expand their homeless shelter, but has no timeframe for when that will happen.