A prime example of partnership to combat homelessness — a necessary one — came into focus Wednesday, with the unveiling of the Leahi Behavioral and Medical Respite facility near Diamond Head. The 20-bed operation at 3650 Maunalei Ave. opened in March, thanks to a $4.2 million state-level grant, administered by the city.
It aims to treat chronically homeless people brought in by the city’s Crisis Outreach Response and Engagement (CORE) team, or who’ve been discharged from an Oahu hospital with nowhere else to go. Ailments can range from chronic diseases to injuries suffered from living on the streets, such as gashes and infections. Of the 17 residents at the Leahi facility last week, most had no health insurance.
The program has echoes of the Behavioral Health Crisis Center in Iwilei, which also opened in March, that helps homeless off the street by providing stabilization with case managers and health-care workers. It also harkens to the medical kauhale that was temporary erected across The Queen’s Medical Center last year — now dismantled, despite the persistent, urgent need for its services and shelter.
On Wednesday, Mayor Rick Blangiardi rightly called the Leahi Behavioral and Medical Respite “a critical piece of our comprehensive and innovative initiatives” to confront Oahu homelessness — with the hope of transitioning some of the most needy off the streets with vital assistance.
Some noteworthy aspects of the Leahi program that must remain strong, if it is to reach its full potential:
>> It was achieved with “intensive collaboration” between multiple governmental and nongovernmental agencies: the Hawaii Health Systems Corp.’s Leahi Hospital is providing the building; the city Emergency Services Department (ESD) is administering the funds, which came via the state Department of Human Services; the city’s CORE team works with North Shore Mental Health to coordinate patient pickup and dropoff at Leahi for medical appointments, housing assistance and more.
There’s also help to get birth certificates, ID cards and other documents necessary to enter transitional housing.
>> The laudable interagency efforts underscore a second imperative — to sustain teamwork on the funding front. The $4.2 million state grant enables the 24/7 help and health care now, but it will take much more to keep things afloat and successful.
“We’re actually looking for other funding to continue the project,” said city ESD Deputy Director Ian Santee. “We’re going to keep the project going for as long as we can.”
All best efforts must be made. The need is quantifiably dire: The latest Point in Time Count of Oahu’s homeless taken in January showed that 33% — 1,483 out of 4,494 homeless counted — reported a mental illness; about 26% reported a substance abuse disorder.
Clearly, there is no quick fix in helping homeless people get back on their feet, off the streets and into transitional housing. It will take perseverance by the homeless themselves, buoyed by an array of services, and that takes funding. Coordination to access deeper pockets will be key.
“Money is somewhat finite,” Blangiardi noted, “but there’s a bit of collaboration when the state comes in,
because the state has access to the funds, federal funds
as well as state funds.”
Leahi Hospital itself is no stranger to fiscal difficulties: the HHSC public hospital struggled a decade ago through serious cutbacks and loss of long-term care beds. Having part of the campus now dedicated to aid homeless people with medical issues is well-aligned with its “safety net” mission.
The Leahi Behavioral and Medical Respite facility also seems to have a nexus with Senate Bill 3139, now awaiting the governor’s signature; it should be signed into law. The bill would create a Crisis Intervention and Diversion Services Program within the state Department of Health so that homeless people with mental illness, or with co-
occurring substance use disorders, can get treated, even if that means taking them off the street involuntarily to a designated treatment facility.
So many problems call for unflinching coordination. It does, indeed, take a village to help the most vulnerable in our society.
