Editorial: Initiatives can help Hawaii’s homeless

All the experts have said repeatedly — and most of Hawaii has heard — that the streets are a dangerous place to live. Nothing conveys that point more starkly than the facts, especially these: A total of 373 homeless people died on Oahu between 2014 and 2018.

The average lifespan for a homeless person here is 53 years, a life decades shorter than in the general population. There are diseases that undermine their health arising from poor sanitation as well as from their own unhealthy choices in life.

Complications from drug abuse caused 30% of the deaths; about the same proportion died of various diseases. And some, owing in part to the criminal activity that pervades the streets, end life as victims of homicide.

These are among the figures released last week by the city Office of the Medical Examiner. They underscore the importance of the social-service outreach to the encampments throughout the island, work aimed at persuading more of that population to come into shelters and, when it’s available, stable, permanent housing.

It is persuasion that ultimately improves for Honolulu residents in general, even those who may now be thinking, “Why should I care about people who insist on living like that?”

There are some who do make that choice, but many more who would choose something better. City and state officials have argued, correctly, that the “Housing First” approach is the most cost-effective.

There are efforts to add to Oahu’s sadly lagging inventory of affordable rentals that, with some assistance, can become new homes for the homeless. Applying rent subsidies to give the homeless some security in advance of intensive treatment and support ultimately can pose less of a fiscal burden than the consequences of turning a blind eye.

Many of those homeless turn repeatedly to emergency-room aid and run up other bills through the call for interventions by police and other tax-supported services. It is cheaper to start by getting the chronically homeless off the street.

And the drug trafficking and other crimes that can infest street and parks in homeless encampments pose a danger not only to those in the next tent but passers-by and the community at large. Some recent cases of violence that have hit tourists and other residents serve as evidence of that.

Expanding the housing options has been an excruciatingly slow process. Plainly the city and state governments need to come up with stop-gap programs that can improve safety on the streets for those passing through but especially for those who live there.

Last week the Honolulu City Council voted unanimously to approve a proposal by Councilwoman Kymberly Pine to provide $23 million enabling the nine district representatives to address homelessness. Each district will get $2.3 million; an additional $2 million is set aside for Waianae Coast homeless service zones.

Among the goals is underwriting projects such as the “lift zones” long supported by the Honolulu Police Department. These zones would involve deployment of inflatable tent-like shelters that can be erected quickly and provide better protection from the elements.

Police and social services would have a presence in these zones, enhancing both the security and the likelihood that some of the homeless can be helped and directed to other support systems.

The appropriation was a crucial development, but only if it’s followed, in short order, by effective actions. Taxpayers want to see some results, including these “lift zones,” serving the homeless with less intrusion into the surrounding community.

And they want to see those results now.

There are other ideas in this “Community Revitalization Initiative” that deserve prompt attention:

>> Development of “kauhale” — loosely structured semipermanent communities with supportive services.

>> Housing First units for permanent placements.

>> A Joint Outreach Center (JOC) in multiple locations to provide some health services to the homeless in the surrounding areas.

>> Urban rest stops; simple bathroom facilities are in short supply, and parks restrooms aren’t bearing up well under the strain of overuse.

Lt. Gov. Josh Green has made it his goal to promote such options for the homeless. It should be time now for some city-state cooperation in an effort to get these proposals realized.

Fortunately, there have been strides made in this direction already. Green and others have worked to offer medical services at the Chinatown JOC and at the Institute for Human Services, in advance of the opening of the planned Hawaii Homeless Healthcare Hui (H4) facility in Iwilei.

About 4,500 homeless people try to make their home on the streets of Oahu; as the medical examiner has confirmed, unveiling the death toll of 373, this is not even a survival strategy.

Why should anyone care? One reason: Humane conditions ultimately safeguard everyone.

A better reason: Because humane treatment belongs in any place that values the aloha spirit.