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Hawaii News

Teaming up to house homeless

The City of Honolulu is doubling the amount of money it’s spending on its Housing First program.

Housing First provides permanent housing to homeless people without first demanding sobriety or other conditions. The approach is recognized as a leading way to help chronically homeless people with mental disabilities or substance abuse problems.

Honolulu has been spending about $2 million annually on Housing First since it launched in late 2014. City officials housed 176 people in the program’s first year.

Officials said Friday they’re working with the United States Veterans Initiative to serve more people.

Honolulu will spend an additional $2.2 million on the program, and U.S. VETS will contribute $600,000. The program aims to help up to 150 people and will be open to everyone, not just veterans.

6 responses to “Teaming up to house homeless”

  1. islandsun says:

    Too much money and too much risk. Encouraging more of the same.

  2. dragoninwater says:

    Another scam by the Democrats. $2 million for what? Another tent and inflatable mattress? For $2 million they could have bought 2,000 $1k homes and permanently housed every single bum from on Oahu in Detroit!

  3. ryan02 says:

    That money would go a lot further in a place where the cost of housing is lower. It doesn’t make sense to encourage people with little or no income to relocate to the most expensive state in the country. Yet, Hawaii offers a no-waiting-period, right-off-the-airplane welfare and medical. The people of this dumb state deserve what they get.

  4. Keolu says:

    Possibly a dormitory style building where the residents are required to help with the upkeep might work. A manager would schedule and track the residents and kick them out if they do not comply with the house rules.

  5. Alohaguy96734 says:

    Wasn’t that contract to promote Housing First given to Glenna Wong who is also the campaign spokesperson for Caldwell? Didn’t she get something like $50,000 just to promote Housing First as a concept without really doing anything?

    From Civil Beat:
    “Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s campaign spokeswoman has been awarded tens of thousands of dollars worth of city contracts, but apparently doesn’t get paid for her campaign work.

    Glenna Wong has been Caldwell’s most visible public relations consultant since at least his 2012 campaign”

    • dragoninwater says:

      100% spot on. Thanks for exposing the outright fraud! You TAX dollars hard at work folks. This is what Kirk calls “solutions” to problems in Honolulu. Time to vote out the Kirook!

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