State officials have drafted a plan discussing how to end homelessness in Hawaii.
State officials have drafted a plan discussing how to end homelessness in Hawaii.
Before the plan is finalized, they want the public’s input, so they’re taking the draft out for comment. The schedule includes two stops on the Big Island.
Officials want to know, “does this work for your particular community,” Hawaii Interagency Council on Homelessness Interim Vice Chair Lynn Heirakuji said. “Our local communities are very different. We want to get the perspective of Kona.”
The three-page draft plan, available on the Department of Human Services’ website at hawaii.gov/dhs/HomelessnessPlan, expands on ways government can provide or subsidize services for the homeless.
The plan proposes four goals, ranging from retooling the homeless crisis response system to increasing access to stable, affordable housing. Housing issues can be addressed, the plan said, in part by improving access to government-funded affordable housing, creating additional rental housing subsidies and finding or making housing available for people with special needs, such as the mentally ill, medically frail, elderly, people with criminal convictions and people with substance abuse addictions.
State officials are trying to develop ways to help people with a history of homelessness get and keep jobs, by identifying what barriers exist to employment.
Exact steps to reach those goals are not spelled out in the draft document.
Heirakuji said she also hopes people might offer their input on what they think “the gaps might be” in the goals and objectives, and on whether those goals are clear.
“There is no typical face of homelessness,” Heirakuji said. “You’ve got families, individuals, couples. People with mental illness, people without mental illness.”
The initiative’s staff has already worked some with groups and organizations providing services to the homeless. Heirakuji said she’s hoping for a broad community representation at the meetings, offering suggestions and ideas.
West Hawaii residents may offer their input during a meeting 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. March 19 at the West Hawaii Civic Center. That evening, from 2-4 p.m., officials will take comments at Aunty Sally’s Luau Hale in Hilo. People who cannot attend the meeting may also submit comments online.