Ige extends emergency order to help homeless

Gov. David Ige on Friday signed a fourth supplementary emergency homeless proclamation that’s designed to help the state more rapidly address homelessness across the islands.

Ige signed his original homeless emergency proclamation Oct. 16, followed by subsequent ones Dec. 24 and Feb. 19. They suspend normal employment and procurement to make it easier for the state to enter into contracts.

Ige’s office said the original proclamation and extensions have reduced the development time tied to ongoing housing projects by up to a year. They include three city housing projects in Waianae, Makiki and Chinatown that involve more than 52 low-income units; and a 32-unit Hawaii County project in Kona.

Ige’s signature means the “disaster emergency relief period” regarding homelessness will be extended another 60 days from Friday. Any contracts executed during the period will be limited to another year but can be extended an additional six months as long as there are no additional costs.

On Thursday about 300 clergy and advocates eager to see more progress on the matter chanted “Housing now!” and waved signs as during an hourlong rally in front of the state Capitol.

None of Hawaii’s state lawmakers attended the event, said Catherine Graham, president of Faith Action for Community Equity, which organized the rally. FACE and its affiliate, the Housing Now! Coalition, includes Local 5, the Hawaii tourism and health care workers union.

Graham said personal invitations were sent to all legislators, but none responded. “What we believe is they’re having pretty sensitive negotiations amongst themselves, and they don’t want to step outside of that and say something out of line to the public,” she said.

In conjunction with the rally, a letter signed by almost 80 clergy from multiple faith groups statewide was delivered to lawmakers demanding support for the Senate draft of House Bill 1700, now in conference committee, which would allocate $50 million for the Rental Housing Revolving Fund, which helps private-public partnerships create affordable housing. The bill also would tag $33 million for the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to allow speedy renovation of vacant units and the development of new housing at Mayor Wright Housing and on School Street; allocate $35 million for the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund to acquire, develop and construct residential, commercial and industrial properties and infrastructure though various types of loans to developers; and earmark $60 million for shovel-ready affordable-housing projects on all the islands.

The letter also urges support for Senate Bill 2561, which proposes 22,500 new affordable rental units in the next two years. The measure has passed the both House and Senate.

The Rev. Walter Brownridge, dean of the Cathedral of St. Andrew and FACE’s state president, said “housing is a right” belonging to all citizens.

“We need to be able stand and speak the truth, that housing is our right, and it’s a shame that our leaders seem sometimes to forget that. We need to challenge those who are obstacles.”

In a FACE statement, Graham said, “Families are sleeping on our sidewalks and those working minimum-wage jobs cannot afford more than a tent to sleep in. Children are being raised on the streets in the wealthiest nation on earth. This is shameful, yet so far, we continue to drift toward criminalizing the homeless with sweeps and expanded trespassing laws.”