The time is ripe for the expansion of the state’s kauhale project, a village-style approach to housing for the state’s unsheltered people. Legislation is moving at the state Capitol to fund more projects anchored by “tiny homes” and communal facilities that would provide stability in the lives of the homeless.

This unquestionably is an important step. The bills would infuse new money into the Ohana Zones Pilot Program, which deployed its first funds in 2019. Ohana zones were envisioned as a bridge from emergency shelter toward more self-sufficiency for those living on the streets or elsewhere on the margins, a population with a census count that remains stubbornly high.

And the kauhale concept, providing tiny homes at a modest cost, has been workable as a model both for individuals and for families with children.

It is seen correctly as part of the solution to a broad housing shortage that is central on agendas for both the Legislature and Gov. Josh Green.

The pandemic has exposed the financial vulnerability of many people who, although not homeless now, live just one paycheck or one personal misfortune away from losing their grasp on shelter, food or both.

Providing pathways out of this downward spiral is the goal of various measures to address the crisis. The bill best positioned to advance the kauhale concept is Senate Bill 1442, which passed the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, well ahead of this Friday’s deadline to be on deck for a final floor vote. Its similar companion measure, House Bill 671, has not been scheduled for a Finance Committee hearing.

Assuming SB 1442 clears the Senate, as it should, exactly how much is allotted will be up for debate after it reaches the House. The Senate measure originally proposed a $15 million appropriation for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, but that amount was blanked out by Ways and Means.

The funds and other final details likely will be hammered out later in House-Senate conference committee, once the state’s finances settle out.

Ultimately the allocation needs to be a healthy amount if lawmakers hope to see inroads made against homelessness.

James Koshiba, Green’s homelessness coordinator, said in written testimony that the Legislature’s move to renew the funding of Ohana Zones would enable the state to focus homelessness initiatives on longer-term solutions such as the kauhale.

Koshiba added that village-style housing with shared bathrooms do qualify for federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing &Urban Development, which the administration certainly should pursue.

He also applauded the bill’s provision of a staff position to administer the program’s procurement and oversight. It also would authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds for construction of facilities — added capacity at a time when the state’s borrowing costs are relatively low.

That capacity will be needed. Keali‘i Lopez, state director for AARP Hawai‘i, offered firm support for the bill’s potential to assist another group living on the streets or on the brink of homelessness: the islands’ seniors.

Lopez cited a Hawaii analysis by AARP and the data firm Statista estimating that nearly 1,000 adults age 55-plus are expected to be evicted in 2023, with more than 1,500 to experience homelessness this year.

There are other groups that could benefit from kauhale-type housing, including those with various health issues, if they have stable housing where service agencies could reach them.

This will be a long-term effort, as finding the right location and service protocols will take time. But SB 1442 will allow the state to scale up the solutions already underway.