Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Friday announced the appointment of a Native Hawaiian educator as the state’s new homeless coordinator and reaffirmed his belief that government has a moral obligation to reduce homelessness.
The governor selected Colin Kippen, former executive director of the National Indian Education Association who also led the Native Hawaiian Education Council, as the homeless coordinator. Kippen will direct an interagency council that is expected to release a strategic plan on homelessness in July.
Abercrombie cited 2010 data about the homeless in Hawaii shelters that suggest nearly a third are children and about 30 percent are of Hawaiian ancestry. In nearly half of homeless families, at least one person works. He said government needs to provide low-cost housing opportunities for people who have jobs but are priced out of the state’s expensive real estate market.
The governor described the $664,000 median home price on Oahu and luxury high-rise residential development projects — which his administration has supported — as part of the challenge.
"We have to make sure. That is the role of government. That’s the role of community. That’s the role of Hawaiian values that we all subscribe to," Abercrombie said at a news conference at the state Capitol. "No child, no child — not in Hawaii — is going to be left alone. No child is going to be homeless.
"We are all children of God, and we are all going to be together. And so we’re going to solve this together."
The draft homeless count this year indicates that more than 6,245 people statewide are in emergency and transitional shelters or on the streets.
Government agencies and social-service providers estimate that more than 1,000 homeless were moved from the streets into shelters from January through April and that 79 moved into permanent housing.
Abercrombie signed a bill Friday that formally places in state law the interagency council he created by executive order last year. The new law also requires the state Department of Human Services to report on the progress of developing safe overnight facilities for the homeless.
Kippen is expected to discuss the strategic plan on homelessness with the interagency council in July. "The way to make something work better is to bring people together, and you have to do that," he said. "The reality is that right now there may not be any more money in the system."
Abercrombie has often spoken of the government’s responsibility to the homeless in moral terms. On Friday he referred to Mahatma Gandhi’s guidance to those with self-doubt about taking action: "Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him," Gandhi advised. "Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to ‘swaraj’ (self-rule) for hungry and spiritually starving millions?
"Then you will find your doubts and yourself melting away."
In January 2011 the governor named Marc Alexander, former vicar general of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, as his first homeless czar. Last spring his administration launched a 90-day action plan to identify and move homeless from the streets.
Alexander, who was considered a bold appointment for the liberal governor, resigned in January as details of a sexual relationship with a woman while he served as a priest were about to be made public. Kippen will replace Alexander.
The new strategic plan on homelessness could contain specific benchmarks to measure whether the government is making progress. Despite the figures on the homeless who have been moved into shelters and permanent housing, and Honolulu’s controversial sweeps from public parks and beaches, the homeless appear increasingly visible on Oahu.
State Rep. Jo Jordan (D, Waianae-Makua) said she believes government has made some progress. "We’re whittling it down to the individuals who are the more hard-core guys that don’t want to go into specific shelters or want a different type of setting," she said. "How do you address those issues? What we really need to do is start looking at the providers and seeing what they’re doing and what’s not working and how can we change that."
