Help homeless help themselves

Anyone who’s been tempted to tell a homeless person to “get a job,” should consider House Bill 1281, which does the same thing — only more charitably.

The bill would create a pilot homeless work program similar to one called “There’s a Better Way,” launched in 2015 in Albuquerque and being considered by other jurisdictions.

It’s not a comprehensive solution — it’s work-for-a-day labor, not a regular job. Nonetheless, it could chip away at the problem by providing the homeless with another way to pull themselves up and gain access to services they need to move off the streets. It also could be mutually beneficial: The homeless who accept day-labor jobs would get paid, and in exchange provide useful services, such as cleaning and beautifying public spaces.

HB 1281 deserves to advance for further discussion about how to fund the program. This should be a public-private enterprise, an approach that has shown promise.

Since the program began in Albuquerque, 1,759 day jobs were given to the homeless, with 226 people then connected with another agency for additional work. A total of 121,601 pounds of litter have been removed, and 418 city blocks cleaned, according to the program website.

And community donations to the program totaled $59,725.

For many clients, the program does not suffice as full preparation for a return to regular work. But that isn’t the only metric by which to gauge success.

These programs serve as another point of contact that can help direct the homeless to other services they may need: substance abuse intervention, health care or acquiring a state ID or driver’s license essential to future work or assistance.

In its testimony, Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, an nonprofit supporting anti-poverty initiatives, called the proposal “an effective measure toward ending homelessness by reducing the stigma around homelessness” and connecting the homeless with services.

The initiative is aimed at the homeless population across the age scale, but advocates for teens believe this could be a life-preserver for homeless and runaway youths.

“These youth lack employment skills and work experience, yet need to find the means to support themselves,” said Judith F. Clark, executive director of Hawaii Youth Services Network. “Some are enrolled in transitional living programs, in which they obtain safe housing while learning the skills for successful adult living.”

The proposal is not without its critics. Some suggest this would merely enable people to remain on the streets, giving them just enough cash to spend unwisely. That is a concern, but one that the social workers interacting with the clients could work to avoid.

Other worries are aired by the agency proposed as the program’s home. The bill requires the governor’s homelessness coordinator or a designee to develop and administer the program.

The person who occupies that job, Scott Morishige, testified that his office lacks the funding to implement such a requirement and asked that an executive agency with administrative capacity be put in charge.

Morishige, as well as others in the social services network, point to jobs programs that already exist, suggesting this may be a duplication of effort.

Nonetheless, it should be considered an addition to existing work-training opportunities and not extraneous. Many of the work projects — basic community upkeep and cleaning, for example — require few skills and so serve as a reasonable entry point. Clients could then advance to other training programs.

Many among the homeless have lost the routine of work, and could benefit from its restoration, a little at a time. They would gain the dignity that comes from work — and for some, this could be the missing onramp for the route back to self-sufficiency.