U.S. Assistant Housing Secretary Mark Johnston applauded Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s $22 million Housing First plan, calling it a major commitment to provide permanent shelter for those in need — the federal government’s top objective in the fight against chronic homelessness.
The city’s Housing First approach "is one of the biggest requests I’ve seen of any mayor that I’ve encountered," Johnston told a room of about 75 homeless-care providers Tuesday at Central Union Church.
The commitment to Housing First by Caldwell and Gov. Neil Abercrombie is "really moving the game," he said. "I realize there are challenges to actually getting all of the funding, but that’s the kind of commitment you don’t always get from local and state government that you actually have here."
Housing First is a concept based on the idea that providing housing should be the mainstay of homeless programs and that conditions often associated with homelessness — such as substance abuse, mental illness and joblessness — should be secondary.
The state has invested about $1 million annually for Housing First initiatives and is seeking about $1.5 million more at this year’s Legislature, said Colin Kippen, the state’s homelessness coordinator. He noted that the state was also recently awarded $2.1 million for services related to Housing First that can be tapped.
Caldwell wants $3 million from the city’s $2.15 billion operating budget and $18.9 million from the $640 capital improvements budget for Housing First initiatives.
From the Housing First allocations, the Council Budget Committee last week slashed $1 million out of the $3 million in operating funds and $4 million from the CIP funds, and Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said more could be cut if the administration doesn’t provide specifics on where the permanent units will be located. Kobayashi and Council Chairman Ernie Martin have also questioned whether the city is spending too much on Housing First, which traditionally has focused on the chronically homeless, who tend to be singles, when there are also homeless families on the street in need of help.
But Johnston told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser after the address that the amount being proposed by Caldwell is not too much.
"You have a huge problem here, and hundreds upon hundreds of people are out on the streets, so I’m impressed by the investment," Johnston said.
While those who are chronically homeless tend to be single, the money can also be used to help families through a form of Housing First called Rapid Rehousing, in which homeless are typically given only a limited and temporary amount of benefits to help on a short-term basis.
"Housing First simply means you take them wherever they’re at, and you get them into housing," Johnston said.
"What we found around the nation is that for families it doesn’t cost very much: It costs between $4,000 and $6,000, and after six or nine months you can stop the assistance," he said.
Johnston said what he’s found unusual about Hawaii is that a greater share of the state’s homeless tend to be on the street despite there being space available at shelters.
While Hawaii’s temperate weather may play a factor in their decision to stay on the street rather than enter shelter, Johnston said nearly all homeless would prefer to live in permanent housing.
When asked whether homeless individuals preferred to stay on the beach, he said, "I think that’s a myth."
Johnston added, "There are people who are mentally ill or are not giving you the full story or are not able to give you the full story. A vast majority of people want to be housed."
