What the homeless need most is affordable homes

If you are fighting a raging fire, any bit of help is welcomed.

So the first reaction to news of Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s plans for some sort of shipping-container homeless camp on Sand Island is positive.

Then you remember that we have been there before, working that homeless blaze just as hard, but still failing to finish the job.

Back in 1990, then-Gov. John Waihee with the help of former Mayor Frank Fasi put together a state-and-county team to give the homeless somewhere to live.

With some initial support by the Weinberg Foundation, Waihee proposed a series of villages or “transitional housing units” to house up to 500 homeless people and families.

The state built three Weinberg Villages, two on donated private land in Haleiwa and Waianae and one on state land in Waimanalo.

“At the time, the concept was out-of-the box thinking; it was a definite positive contribution. They served a very good purpose,” recalls Rep. Bert Kobayashi, who in the 1990s served in the state Senate.

A report prepared by SMS Research stated in July 1990 that “between 7,023 and 8,369 individuals are homeless in Hawaii on any given day. Saying “it was the most definitive data available,” the report found that less than 15 percent of the homeless were able to find any shelter.

“The vast majority of the homeless are living in parks, on beaches, in vans and cars, under viaducts and in caves,” said the 1990 report.

Waihee originally suggested up to six Weinberg Villages, including one in Manoa, a residential area with an almost xenophobic dislike of change, said Kobayashi, who represents the Kahala-Kaimuki area, in an interview.

The areas eventually offering Weinberg Villages were tucked far enough away to cancel the “Not in my backyard” cries.

The project in Waimanalo has had an estimated 4,800 clients move in and out.

Its director, Holly Holowach, said the program is a “clean and sober” facility with regular checks. It takes in only families that are homeless and they have to pay $350 to $700 a month.

“They do have to have income and they have to be working or go to school,” Holowach said in an interview. “The whole goal is to teach them how to be good tenants, take good care of their units, take good care of their children and give back to the community.”

The housing program proposed by Waihee envisioned family units of two 96-square-foot rooms with a 24-square-foot bathroom and a kitchen large enough for a refrigerator, microwave and rice cooker. The unit would be for a family of three or four.

Weinberg started as temporary housing; it was not meant to be permanent housing, recalled Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, who was in the state House when the Weinberg project started 24 years ago.

The Caldwell plan for Sand Island calls for units to be between 40 to 53 square feet with adjacent bathroom faculties and a communal dining facility.

Two things are obvious about the Caldwell plan. First, the Sand Island location takes fear of a NIMBY reaction to an entirely new level of paranoia. It is assumed Sand Island was picked because we couldn’t figure out how to get the homeless to French Frigate Shoals, which is also part of the City and County.

Second, the answer for homelessness is more homes. Families need places they can afford, apartments that cost between $700 and $1,500 a month.

Holowach explained it best: “We can take a family off the beach. We can help them learn to be a good tenant and employed and motivated. But then where are they going to go? The last piece is still missing.”

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.