Homelessness is among society’s most painful problems, one that grows more acute in times of economic distress, which Honolulu and cities throughout the country certainly are enduring.

But one thing cities can’t endure is a failure to impose and enforce controls on where the homeless can stay. That’s evidently the case here, witnessing the unpermitted campsites that have sprawled around Kakaako and in other communities.

The state and city in recent years have made some progress, with the establishment of the Next Step shelter off Forrest Avenue in Kakaako and facilities elsewhere, principally the Veterans in Progress and Onelau’ena programs at Kalaeloa. For its part, city officials have tried to strengthen the regulatory framework, banning unpermitted campsites in parks and on city sidewalks.

But much remains to be done, on both fronts. First, the city must clarify where camping is prohibited in a way that makes the ban more enforceable. This could require zoning restrictions to curb camping on nonresidentially-zoned private land as well as public property. Private owners of vacant land should be held accountable for illicit camping on their property as well, so that the police have partners with an incentive to enforce the rules.

Just as important a component of a solution, however, is the island’s capacity to house the homeless. There needs to be more shelter space in the urban core, where most of the working poor need to be in order to go to their jobs or seek employment or social services. Next Step provides a service shuttling clients between Kapolei bus lines and Kalaeloa shelters, but some people opt to be on the street because they’d rather not make the commute. Others prefer their tents to the walled shelters because they resist all the rules imposed, said Utu Langi, executive director of Hawaii Helping the Hungry Have Hope, the nonprofit that runs Next Step. At the shelter residents must do various chores, for example.

And therein lies another key component: Many of the homeless must rise above vagrancy and muster the same will to help themselves as those trying to help them.

While any program would need at least some regulation and oversight to maintain security, the city and state should explore another option that some individuals and families might find a better fit: "safe zones." Various cities have instituted these legal campsites that provide some sanitation and security but more accommodating to people who want a little more privacy.

Langi said his shelter — in a waterfront warehouse — can accommodate about twice the 200 currently residing there, but staffing would need to increase, and that costs money. Still, an expansion on-site through greater support should be considered.

It is good to see the Hawaii Community Development Authority taking a proactive role in outreach with social services to the homeless population that has expanded in the Kakaako Kai part of its redevelopment district. They will need help increasingly as the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii and other lab facilities fill out what is now an area in transition.

Homelessness is a complex issue that defies simple solutions and surely will persist to some degree. But the "next step" in the mission to manage the problem is resolve among government leaders to grapple with the realities. We need enforceable rules against pitching a tent whereever it’s convenient, and places for the truly needy people to go.