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Bright and colorful backpacks line a section of the Hawaii State Capitol this legislative session, attracting attention with their display. Each one represents a wistful story, not about fun or play, but about the journey of a child facing homelessness.

The public art exhibit, called “Not All Backpacks Carry the Same Weight,” hangs within sight of the main legislative chambers as a way to force politicians to face troubling issues related to the homelessness of children in Hawaii, said artist , who collaborated on the piece with homeless students as well as sophomores at Moanalua High School and the organization .

There are four rows of backpacks with a dozen backpacks in each row. One is decorated with a pitch black and starry background with the word “growth” above a singular neon pink flower. Another shows a single backlit figure walking down a road. There are paintings of hands reaching out to one another as well as crying eyes. 

“All of these backpacks are a light of hope that see the goodness in the kids, like us, that are from the streets or are still in the streets,” said Kehaulani Repolio, who helped with the project as a former RYSE beneficiary. “They show that there’s still a generation of people, even a generation of kids our age, that want to help. And that does mean a lot.”

Backpacks are worn by students across the state, but the content inside the bags varies, Kheddaoui said. Some students have notebooks, a laptop and stationery, but a student experiencing housing instability is likely to carry bare essentials such as clothes, hygiene items or maybe even all of their worldly possessions. 

Hawaii has the third-highest rate of unsheltered homeless youth in the nation, according to a from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Some of the backpacks show citations received for unlawful camping or phrases that convey resentment toward the “system.”

Kheddaoui, a teaching artist supported by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and Arts, wanted to make sure the backpack art focused on advocacy, including the belief that teaching children about art can connect action and change. 

“The Capitol is exactly where this should be,” Kheddaoui said. “Because it’s an important issue we all need to address and note.”

Through the production process, Kheddaoui said, high school sophomores at Moanalua were working indirectly with formerly homeless youths, such as Repolio, to destigmatize kids in tough situations and form a creative response to a societal problem.

One of the Moanalua students, Kyrie Alonzo, painted a backpack conveying the negativity of addiction by crossing out video game characters and showing empty pill bottles. 

“Usually the homeless you see on the streets are adults and, like, we don’t see a lot of the youth that we connect with,” Alonzo said. “So I hope that they can see that here, and they know that they are being thought of every day.”

Repolio, whose experience is represented throughout the collection of decorated backpacks, said she hopes the message is clear, and she wants as many people as possible to see it. 

“I want them to acknowledge us, that we’re here,” Repolio said. “We’re not just street rats and trash. We just have a harder time figuring things out because of what we’ve been handed. We’re not bad kids.”