Betty Lou Larson retired officially in 2010 at Catholic Charities Hawaii after almost 30 years of work, culminating in her post as housing programs director. But she found, as many professionals do, that she could not quite leave it all behind.
So at 69, Larson jumps on her bicycle each day (she’s a veteran member of the Red Hot Ladies’ cycling group) and pedals to the social services agency each year as its legislative liaison, working through the session.
“I’m so blessed that I can do my work,” she said. “I do it for six months and then I volunteer the rest the year. But I also go and visit my family and travel, see friends, so I have the perfect retirement.”
Larson, born in Oregon, came to Hawaii in 1969 and graduated from the University of Hawaii with a B.A. and a master’s in Asian studies. She did travel to Asia but came back and decided to get another master’s in social work and launched her career. That career has included service on housing boards for nonprofits, the city and the state, including the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp.
At the Legislature she advocates for affordable housing, primarily, but also delivers testimony on domestic violence, tax fairness, economic equity and other interests.
Few sessions have ended as well as the one just completed, from the housing standpoint, with major state investments in rental housing support making a particularly strong impact, Larson said.
And over at City Hall, she counts as a win the administration’s moves to enable accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Despite their slow start, Larson still sees ADUs as a critical puzzle piece to fill in a desperate housing gap.
The vacation-rental industry, on the other hand, needs some control, she said.
“It’s kind of like a big business and we’re asking big businesses in Hawaii, ‘Look at the community … there has to be a social benefit,’” she said.
QUESTION: How much affordable housing has Catholic Charities helped to create to date, and how many units are in the works?
ANSWER: Catholic Charities Hawaii currently has 218 affordable rental units, including the just-opened second phase of our Meheula Vista senior affordable rental housing complex in Mililani Mauka. We are halfway through building the Meheula Vista project, which will have 301 units overall when fully completed.
When all of Meheula Vista, as well as two phases of the planned Kahului Lani senior housing project in Maui, are completed, CCH will offer 528 affordable rental units. Our mission is to keep our projects affordable into the future. …
CCH offers the social services to the buildings. For example, at Meheula Vista, we will offer residents assessment of their needs and develop a “road map” to achieve their goals. We offer counseling, monitoring and coordination to ensure that their care plan goals are met. Education and social activities create community and help to prevent social isolation.
Q: Why do you think the Legislature made the sudden switch and funded affordable housing during this session?
A: This year, both the state House and Senate, as well as Gov. (David) Ige, have made affordable housing a priority. The ongoing crisis in homelessness is one reason it has come to a head. …
Moreover, our children, young graduates, seniors and many working families have a tough time finding a place to rent that they can afford. It is heartbreaking to read that desperate people who CAN pay rent are begging for units on Craigslist. The public is being impacted, and so are business owners who may not be able to hire workers if they cannot afford to live in Hawaii.
Q: Is there anything that would make the complex financing process for housing projects less of a disincentive for developers?
A: Perhaps the most important factor is knowing with certainty that there will be funding to make these projects financially feasible. Government programs like the Rental Housing Revolving Fund (RHRF) are essential for developers to look for land and spend thousands of dollars preparing a good project for funding.
This year, the RHRF had $50 million to award for new developments, but it received over $200 million in applications. If most projects that compete for this funding “lose out,” this will be a great disincentive. Significant annual funding is critical to continue the flow of projects.
We must also make sure to include nonprofits in the mix. Their mission is to keep projects affordable for the long term. We do not want to see projects turning into market housing in the future, as is threatened for the Front Street project in Maui.
Q: How do you view stop-gap solutions such as the state’s proposed “ohana zones” for the homeless?
A: I really feel for the homeless who are being constantly swept from one street to another. Ohana zones can only work to reduce homelessness if they are merged into an ongoing strong network of housing-targeted services. These proven programs need to be beefed up to handle the additional demands from ohana zones.
It takes a lot of collaborations to move homeless into permanent housing. If ohana zones become just a way to remove the homeless from public view, then Hawaii has lost an opportunity to really solve the problem.
Q: Are there any other strategies for increasing housing inventory at the lowest income levels?
A: Hawaii residents with extremely low incomes, including most of the elders that CCH serves, low-wage earners, and homeless people, are left out of “affordable” housing projects, which only offer 5 percent of units to those at 30 percent area median income (AMI) or below. Housing vouchers work, but they are limited and maxed out.
One interesting proposal that died this year would have allocated a percentage of the conveyance tax for shallow rent subsidies for those at 30 percent AMI or below.
As new projects come to the state housing corporation for funding, developers could build in 20 percent of the units for lower-income residents, with a subsidy included from this funding. These projects should be prioritized for funding with limited state funds.
Q: Any other wins/losses from the just-completed legislative session?
A: A loss: The Housing Homeless Children pilot program was not funded this year. Shallow rent subsidies were proposed to quickly move homeless families with kids into housing. Many families are working and have stable income. For more than a quarter of households who fall into homelessness, it is simply due to being short of money to pay their rent, but they have no other issues.
Recognizing that children in families already traumatized by domestic violence should not have to become homeless to get help, the bill also included families at-risk of homelessness due to domestic violence.
A win: The state Legislature passing a housing bill with $200 million to build new rentals. The measure also funds a study to gather data on the numbers of people with special needs who need housing and strategies to house them. …
We hope this will lead to new effective policies to fill these gaps.
Q: What role should the faith community play in helping the poor, as opposed to what government should do?
A: The faith community can focus more on the needs of tenants, and not just housing. Government can build housing and the faith community can help make housing into a community.
We can be more creative and look at special needs, such as how to screen people into housing, instead of out of housing. For example, housing projects now require a minimum income, which is often two times the income to rent for senior projects. CCH allows food stamps to be counted since tenants’ rental payments can be more stable, if their food costs are covered.
We also partner with other nonprofits, as well as labor unions, that own housing projects and want to better meet the needs of tenants. CCH provides aging-in-place services in 12 senior projects to help elders remain living in the community. Catholic Charities Hawaii also partners with two family projects to provide case management to help stabilize tenants.
