Hawaii is confronting a downward-spiraling housing crisis that is causing major harm to our state.

Working families become homeless because housing is not available at a level of rent that they can afford.

Families spend so much of their income on housing that they must cut back on food, medical care and other essentials. Many people are forced for financial reasons to squeeze into a single house because only together can they afford to pay the rent.

College-educated young people relocate to the mainland in order to find reasonably priced housing.

Addressing homelessness needs is virtually impossible without having sufficient housing for residents with limited to no income. Many factors contribute to this housing crisis. Among them:

>> The private housing development industry is geared toward building luxury housing, which limits the construction of housing for local residents.

>> Much of our housing stock is not used as homes for local residents because they are bought by investors who let them sit empty for much of the time.

>> Government housing programs for low- and middle-income families are woefully inadequate.

>> The housing crisis keeps getting worse because the average price of a home rises faster than the average wage.

Government programs haven’t been able to build enough affordable housing to keep up with our population increases. Government programs are so ineffective that even if funding were doubled or even tripled, it would still not be enough. Existing government housing agencies must be reformed because they can’t keep doing only what they are accustomed to doing.

Hawaii is in dire need of better affordable housing solutions. Multiple new ideas are needed because there is no single silver bullet that is going to solve it all.

Here are six ideas that have the potential for resolving our housing crisis for families earning the median income and below:

1. Impose a new empty homes tax (such as Honolulu’s Bill 9) on residential properties not used as a home for a Hawaii resident, so as to encourage use of housing for local residents, discourage speculative offshore investment, and create a substantial continuing income stream to support affordable housing projects.

2. Support high-density affordable housing on state and county lands in urban areas, particularly near public transit. Restrict the housing to local residents who do not own any other real estate and maintain the housing at the affordable level permanently.

3. Build a mixed-use development on the Aloha Stadium site with 10,000 affordable housing units integrated with housing at all income levels, grocery stores, restaurants and other urban amenities, all in a walkable neighborhood, and built in phases.

4. Redefine “affordable housing” to have an upper limit of $1,500 a month for a two-bedroom apartment, or the equivalent, to be adjusted over time for inflation, and build affordable housing at that level and below.

5. Expand the functions of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority and change its name to authorize it to develop affordable housing in addition to public housing.

6. Amend laws and regulations to promote less expensive forms of housing, such as tiny homes and single-room-occupancy boarding houses.

These six ideas have the potential in the long term to end Hawaii’s affordable housing crisis. However, a new attitude in government is also needed. These ideas will be successful only if the leadership in government fully commits to embrace them.

Fortunately, the November election will infuse new leadership at the state and county levels. The new leadership will have the opportunity to adopt these six new ideas and create a new and better vision for affordable housing in Hawaii.

Ellen Godbey Carson is a retired attorney and community advocate for affordable housing and homelessness solutions.