State officials are initiating discussions with service providers and the community about homelessness on the Waianae Coast.

State homeless services coordinator Scott Morishige on Friday said he is not aware of any plans to sweep an encampment near Waianae Boat Harbor, which is on state land. But he said the "ultimate goal" islandwide is to transition the homeless into permanent housing.

According to a point-in-time count, there are nearly 370 unsheltered and about 1,025 sheltered homeless people on the Waianae Coast this year.

The encampment near the harbor was one of several topics discussed at a meeting Thursday organized by state Rep. Andria Tupola (R, Kalaeloa-Ko Olina-Maili) in an effort to be proactive in handling the area’s homeless population.

Tupola said officials should talk to members of the community before any action is taken at the harbor.

"With no plan you’re going to make everything worse," she said Thursday. "Say I had a wand and I created all the houses we need. Would it go away? No. I really think that we got to identify the source. If we’re not doubling, tripling and quadrupling our efforts at the source, we will be found in the same place in five years."

Twinkle Borge, who is known as a leader in the encampment near the harbor, described the "houseless" community as sustainable and said she does not support dismantling the area of about 250 people.

"If they take this away, they be doing just the wrong thing," said Borge, who has lived near the harbor for more than 10 years. "They would create a problem and make it bigger. Whatever we’re doing, it’s working. We’re not asking the state for anything. It’s out of sight, out of mind."

Other area residents agreed that factors such as a lack of jobs and affordable housing, low wages, high rents and a shift in family dynamics have contributed to homelessness.

"Low-cost housing is not affordable," said Kimo Matsumoto, a pastor at Powerhouse Church in Waianae. "(There’s) got to be some way we can make it really affordable."

Matsumoto added, "There’s a lot of people who say, ‘Not in my backyard.’ (But) if it’s in my backyard, we will open our hearts, and we’ll do our best to love people and help people right where they’re at. I think we have to work as a community."

Leinaala Kanana, director of community health services at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, said this year the center has helped about 750 people on the Leeward Coast. There needs to be more dialogue among service providers and officials, she said.

She added that the "rat race" to find affordable housing has contributed to increased pressure on families.

A city proposal to build modular housing units in two locations in Waianae has raised concerns among some area residents that the housing wouldn’t be a good fit for the community.

A project on 1.1 acres near Waianae High School and next to Maluhia Lutheran Church on Farrington Highway calls for 16 to 20 480-square-foot units to accommodate a total of 75 to 90 people. The other project would be on a 7,500-square-foot property on Halona Road, with three 400- to 500-square-foot units.

Tupola reiterated that the way to address homelessness in the area is to include all stakeholders.

"If we had more people that were pulling weight, would it work — maybe," said Tupola, concluding the two-hour meeting at Kaahaaina Cafe. "They are building houses in developments. We’re looking for homes in communities. Nothing that works in Kakaako is going to work here — none of this one-size-fits-all solutions."