Honolulu has accepted 312 emergency housing vouchers provided through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Partners in Care, Oahu’s planning body that coordinates housing and services for homeless individuals, will partner with the city to give out the emergency vouchers.

Executive Director Laura Thielen said the vouchers are different from other housing vouchers the city has used in the past because the referrals will go through a coordinated entry system that allows the organization to prioritize particularly vulnerable families and individuals. The other Section 8 housing vouchers are normally opened to the public, and it is first come, first served.

“What they really want us to focus on is getting to special subpopulations. It’s a whole range of them, but it’s domestic violence victims, sex, trafficked individuals, folks with HIV/AIDS issues,” she said — “really focusing on a lot of the core groups that the homeless system works with.”

Thielen said the program also will allow providers to transfer people who are already in supportive housing through their programs to these emergency vouchers if they do not need as many supportive services as they used to need.

“That will open permanent supportive vouchers for people who need more support services,” she said.

“It’s going to have a very big systemwide effect.”

The federal guidance says the programming will continue until 2030, but it could become a permanent resource, according to Sarah Allen, Honolulu’s Department of Community Services director.

“They are expecting that we’ll achieve annual funds thereafter, so making this a permanent housing voucher program in perpetuity,” she said.

“That’s really, really exciting, considering we haven’t had any new vouchers in 30 years.”

The emergency vouchers will be able to serve both individuals and families, and will allow for an annual rental.

The city currently is helping house about 3,800 families, so the 312 vouchers will add to that number.

Allen said people will start being housed in February.

“There is some admin that the (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) guidelines require us to do — for example, writing up and publishing administrative rules for the program — and there’s a lot of other ramp-up, getting the folks on board, getting partners on board, making sure the contracts are in place,” she said.

“It’s really wonderful to be able to give something important like this, especially in the pandemic and the economic situation that we’re in today.”