There’s an all-too- familiar lament among the homeless who would rather brave the elements than be housed in a shelter: Rules at shelters are far too stringent.

But that reasoning will no longer hold weight when it comes to Next Step Shelter in Kakaako, which is relaxing its rules. The biggest game-changer is the nixing of a requirement that forced clients to vacate by 8:30 every morning. While it’s not necessary to abandon all 13 pages of Next Step’s rules, careful deletions likely will encourage higher occupancy at the shelter — at least that’s the hope.

More people inside Next Step means fewer hanging out at Kakaako Waterfront Park waiting to be allowed back in the shelter. The 8:30 a.m. out-the-door policy forced clients, including families, to be uprooted on a daily basis, creating chaos for both clients and staff. Being able to stay 24/7 should lower stress levels for all involved — and enable the channeling of energies toward future-building.

The challenge has been to get the unsheltered through Next Step’s doors. That’s important — because once there, clients can take advantage of services to help them find permanent housing within 90 days, as well as job placement. Those wraparound services are essential on the path to normalcy.

Waikiki Health, which operates the shelter under contract with the state, now must strike a careful balance that does not compromise safety as the rules ease.

Four basic rules remain: Clients must pay rent that ranges from $60 per month for a single adult to $80 for three cubicles for families; no public disturbances; no destruction; and no violence. Even those who do get into fights won’t automatically be given the boot — but order, of course, must be maintained.

Next Step also is taking in newly released convicts who are often let out of prison without ID needed to get jobs and housing. Surely this sector of the homeless population needs assistance — the prison system should improve support for re- entering society — but it’s imperative that the homeless shelter remain a safe haven for families.

After all, until the state’s new Family Assessment Center opens next month in Kakaako, Next Step is one of just a few options for homeless families.

The Family Assessment Center, in a renovated maintenance building next to the University of Hawaii’s medical school, is finally on track after a six-month delay caused by a malfunctioning sewer pump. It will be filled with cubicles for up to 60 family members at a time for up to 90 days, for an expected total of 240 people annually.

A modest but needed effort, the temporary shelter will provide on-site social services to help families find homes and learn financial management, essential steps to getting and staying off the streets.

Whereas shelters for single adults have empty bed space each night, homeless families are on long waiting lists to get into shelters that accommodate family units — all the more reason for the state to move aggressively on this and similar projects. The assessment center will have an annual operating budget of $450,000 and is scheduled to operate for two years, but with Oahu’s affordable rental stock not able to keep up with demand, that simply might not be long enough.

Many loose ends remain prior to opening. Donated air mattresses are needed so families won’t have to sleep on the shelter’s concrete floor. The state hopes to partner with churches to provide meals because the shelter has no kitchen or food storage, and it must find a social service provider to work with clients moving from the center to homes.

In all this, though, the families must step up to help themselves.

These latest efforts at Next Step and the Family Assessment Center are positive steps that will undoubtably help some. Still, what’s missing is a master plan that pulls together all stakeholders and addresses the wide-ranging sectors of the homeless population.

Tackling the nation’s highest per-capital homeless population will take more than piecemeal efforts — there must be a big-picture plan that makes a larger impact.