With an aim to get Oahu’s chronically homeless off the streets and into permanent housing, the city’s new Leahi Behavioral and Medical Respite facility has officially opened near the slopes of Diamond Head.

Starting operations in March under a $4.2 million state-level grant, the 20-bed facility at 3650 Maunalei Ave. involves the state Department of Human Services, Hawaii Health Systems Corp., city Emergency Services Department, and the city Department of Community Services, in offering homeless clients immediate, 24/7 health care needs.

Typically brought to the facility by the city’s red-shirted Crisis Outreach Response and Engagement, or CORE, program workers, the center currently has 17 adult clients – mostly men, whose ages range from their mid-20s to late 70s, with most having no health insurance — who are provided clinical and behavioral mental health services, among other treatment and counseling options, the city says.

The facility’s clients also are assisted in obtaining important documents such as birth certificates, government-issued identification cards and other official papers to assist their entry into transitional housing, with an eye toward more permanent homes.

North Shore Mental Health, an Oahu-based organization of mental and behavioral health providers, runs the program. As part of its services, the company provides certified substance abuse counselors at the facility.

“To address homelessness in the City and County of Honolulu we created a partnership and collaboration with all of these entities to support the funding, to support the resources and to get clients,” Honolulu Emergency Services Deputy Director Ian Santee said during a Wednesday news conference announcing the center’s opening next to Leahi Hospital. “The clients here are either through a hospital discharge or through collaboration by our staff at CORE.”

He added “the clients all have some type of medical condition that cannot be treated on the street.”

“A lot of the time individuals that are houseless, that are found on the street, they get some type of wound-care, and they get into an emergency room and then they go back to the street,” he said. “What that does is when (the wound) gets infected or when it gets out of control it increases our 911 calls for ambulances.”

According to the city, Honolulu is working with hospitals around the island to coordinate patient transport to the Leahi facility. “The city will cover the costs of care, medication, and doctor’s visits until the individuals can be set up with their own health insurance,” a city-issued statement reads.

Although the facility originally had 22 clients, Santee said five were “discharged in various forms” for housing, “or they chose to get out on their own, and one person asked to return to the mainland.”

Santee noted “there isn’t a time limit per se” for clients to leave the medical respite.

“But our goal is about 60 days I would say, which is about the time limit,” he added. “We want to move them along as fast as we can but we’re not going to just kick them out.”

Santee said “the city is not spending anything on this program” due to the $4.2 million state grant. However, “we’re actually looking for other funding to continue the project,” he said. “We’re going to keep the project going for as long as we can.”

Moreover, city officials noted transitional housing sites will eventually be located at more spots around Oahu.

“I can’t tell you how many sites, but we’re going to do as much as we possibly can,” Mayor Rick Blangiardi said at the news conference. “Money is somewhat finite, 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.”

Sam Moku, the city’s homeless coordinator, said the community is also crucial in solving the homeless problem.

“Because we will be coming to your community, somewhere, to build one of these (transitional) shelters,” he added. “And I ask all of you to be supportive.”

Oahu’s homeless population was 4,494 as of Jan. 23, according to the latest Point in Time Count survey, which was released last month.