Civil Beat reporter Jessica Terrell and photographer Cory Lum took home a top national award Saturday night at the Online News Association’s annual awards banquet.

“The Harbor: This Waianae Homeless Camp Is Not What You’d Expect” won first place in the feature category (small news outlets).

Terrell, who grew up homeless herself, spent three months reporting from the camp tucked in the woods next to the Waianae Boat Harbor.

She wanted to show readers that many of Hawaii’s homeless are simply “houseless,” with the same aspirations for their families as others more fortunate.

Terrell gave up her Waikiki apartment and moved to the Waianae coast to be able to more fully report the story including its place in the Waianae community.

Lum joined her near the end of the project, shooting dozens of photos and several videos for the multi-part multimedia package.

Civil Beat’s Rui Kaneya was a finalist in the topical reporting category for his reporting on Hawaii’s prison system, “Hawaii Behind Bars.” Kaneya has been writing about the corrections system in what has become an ongoing focus for him. Among other stories, he traveled to Arizona to report on the private prison Hawaii contracts with to house about 1,400 Hawaii inmates.

First place in the topical reporting category went to the Texas Tribune for “God and Governing,” a documentary series on how Texas lawmakers’ religious beliefs guide their policy-making.