When Gov. David Ige first declared a state of emergency over the homeless crisis, in October 2015, Hawaii had the largest rate per capita of any state in the nation — with 7,260 homeless people in the islands, according to the annual Point in Time count, which is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
It’s encouraging that after trending upward from 2013 to 2016, the statewide tally has decreased over the past four years, corresponding with increases in housing placements. Hawaii has poured significant sums of public funds and resources into tackling this complex problem, and some programs are indeed succeeding in helping people secure household stability.
Hawaii’s No. 1 ranking fell to No. 2, behind New York, in HUD’s just-released 2019 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. That’s still lamentable in a big way, of course, but the ongoing data collection reveals bright spots. Among them: a nearly 40% reduction in homeless families with minor children since 2016.
Among unremitting concerns is how to prevent the initial fall into homelessness. In a meeting at the state Capitol last week, at which housing officials assessed the status of homelessness here, Brandee Menino, CEO of Hope Services Hawaii of Hilo, said 70% of the people her agency served last year were new to being homeless. That’s disheartening.
According to the United Way’s ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) Report for Hawaii, issued in 2018, nearly half of all households statewide are living paycheck-to-paycheck.
The report pegged 11% of households at below the federal poverty line, and another 37% as having incomes that fell short of funding needed for a “household survival budget,” covering only basic housing, food, transportation, child care and health care costs.
In response, there are some long-term prevention efforts in the works, such as one launched last year through Aloha United Way’s ALICE fund. It provides courses that upskill minimum wage workers so they can land better-paying jobs. Given the large count of households teetering on the edge of a downward slide that’s often difficult to reverse, the 2020 Legislature should set its sights on expanding front-end fixes.
Given that monthly rent often takes the biggest bite out of the household survival budget, it follows that more must be done to address the state’s chronic shortage of affordable housing. On Oahu, where most of Hawaii’s homeless population lives, an estimated 20,000-26,000 units are needed to meet demand.
According to HUD’s 2019 report — based on each state’s Point in Time census, conducted in January — nearly 45 in every 10,000 people in Hawaii were homeless. That’s well over twice the national average of 17. Those numbers paint a grim picture. However, the state’s overall count has decreased by nearly 20% from 2016.
Among the bright spots on the safety-net front, Punawai Rest Stop in Iwilei — Hawaii’s first all-in-one homeless project — last week marked its first anniversary. With its array of services, the project is a “compassionate” element in the city’s “compassionate disruption” strategy, which has involved disrupting encampments for much of the past decade.
Moving forward, the recently launched “Homeless Outreach and Navigation for Unsheltered Persons” (HONU), also holds promise. Through its two-pronged tactic, police crack down on homeless- related violations within a 5-mile radius of a pop-up inflatable structure, which serves as a temporary “navigation center” toward needed services.
As Hawaii continues to chip away at the homelessness problem, the 2020 Point in Time count is slated to get underway on Jan. 23 (see www.partnersincare- oahu.org). Here’s your chance to be a part of solutions by helping to get an accurate homeless count, which informs better care and services.
