Gov. Josh Green plans to expand his homeless kauhale village concept within a month to erect the state’s first “medical respite” kauhale for homeless people across from The Queen’s Medical Center “in my backyard” for eight to 10 homeless people at a time who disproportionately use emergency rooms only to end up back on the street, Green said.

Homeless people — who comprise 30% of all ER visits — often end up on either side of Punchbowl Street outside of Queen’s ER, sometimes in hospital gowns and medical bracelets, in eyesight of Washington Place, the governor’s mansion.

Green repeatedly told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” livestream program Monday that he wants the medical respite kauhale to go up “in my backyard” to show island residents that homeless people are already in their own backyards.

He hopes the medical respite kauhale will represent a new wave of 25 more kauhale in communities across the islands.

“I’m literally building this tiny kauhale, which is medical respite, in my backyard,” Green said. “It’s right in the area right next to the governor’s residence and at the Department of Health, where we have a lot of resources so that you don’t see an individual with a terrible fracture back on the street or with an open wound, which is not healthy. We have to be better than that.”

Green’s “Spotlight Hawaii” appearance included his thoughts on a wide range of topics, including the future of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, a new Aloha Stadium, “green fees” aimed at tourists and ongoing budget negotiations that will determine the future of key proposals to reinvent Hawaii’s approach to helping low-income residents, give pay raises to public school teachers and attract and retain social workers, doctors and nurses by paying off their student debt.

Green has been pushing the kauhale idea since he was lieutenant governor, which became reality with the opening of the first one in 2021 in Kalaeloa, called Kama‘oku.

Kama‘oku’s 37 120-square-foot “tiny homes” were built on 1.5 acres of decommissioned Naval Air Station Barbers Point land off Yorktown Street at a cost of $20,000 per unit.

As governor, Green now hopes to create 25 new homeless kauhale across the state with a focus on Oahu’s urban core, including one next in the Middle Street area.

“The neighbor islands want them very badly,” said Green, who worked weekend shifts as an emergency room doctor in Kailua-Kona while serving as lieutenant governor.

But, “there’s got to be a lot of them in the urban region so that, once again, it doesn’t overwhelm any one street or block or community.”

Green and his staff plan to hold town hall meetings in communities where they hope to explain the need to erect kauhale, because “there are homeless in all our communities. … It’s there. It’s right there in front of us every day.”

Green imported the kauhale approach from a visit to Austin, Texas.

He hopes the updated version — with security, social services, hygiene and offers of a pathway out of homelessness — becomes a national model, he told “Spotlight Hawaii.”

There will be zero tolerance for people who are violent or commit other crimes, such as dealing drugs.

“They will be arrested,” Green said.

Overall, he said, “I want people across the country to know we are the most kind and most civilized state that exists. … If Hawaii can’t do things in a civilized way, with the spirit of aloha, I’m not sure any other state can.”

In other updates for “Spotlight Hawaii,” Green said:

>> He is “very grateful” that he and the state Senate have “gotten through our conflicts” over three of his failed Cabinet nominees, with the last nominees up for confirmation in the final days of the legislative session. “It makes it easier for me to do the job,” he said.

>> This week will be critical in determining how much financial relief the state will provide to keep low-income families and kupuna from leaving to more affordable states and how much financial aid it will provide to teachers, social workers, doctors and nurses to shore up Hawaii’s health care system.

“I’m restructuring a lot of society, with the help of legislators, right before people’s eyes,” Green said. “A lot of decisions will be made this week. … The proof will be in the pudding over the next couple of days.”

>> He expects the University of Hawaii football team will play its first games at a new Aloha Stadium in 2028, “I’m almost sure.”

“The future is we’ll build a stadium,” Green said. “I have to wait until they (legislators) tell me whether I have the additional $49.5 million to build it. So it’s either going to be a $350 million stadium project or a $399.5 million stadium project. … It will be design-build to operate and maintain. And if we only have the $350 million, I’ll go forward with simply one RFP (request for proposal bid) to allow for the development. … I really want to make that sure that we give the Legislature the breathing room to make that decision on that other $49.5 million. It will ultimately determine how many seats we have. My goal is, no matter what, to have 25,000 seats, and I’m pretty optimistic about that.”

No private money will be involved in either demolishing the current stadium or building the first phase of a new one, Green said.

Asked whether Aloha Stadium will follow in the footsteps of the city’s much- delayed and over-budget rail project, Green said that the money provided by the Legislature is all there is.

“That’s it,” he said. “That’s all the money that will be allowed to go into the project. … If we had allowed for the finance mechanism, it’s kind of like putting the stadium on a credit card in a way.”

Any potential corporate naming rights for the stadium would pay for more seats and “boxes and so on,” he said.

>> He remains neutral on the future of the Hawaii Tourism Authority and will defer to the Legislature.

Green’s administration has submitted an RFP for $38 million to market Hawaii tourism and $29 to manage Hawaii’s expected 10 million visitors.

“You don’t want to be out-marketed by the Caribbean or Mexico. That’s somewhat important,” Green said.

“I’m not personally worried that people will forget about Hawaii and the majesty of our beautiful environment,” he said. “If they do disband HTA, we will form an advisory commission underneath the DBEDT (Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism) director. That’s what would happen.

“I can go either way because I know I can put good professionals in DBEDT on this issue, and I know that I can also contract with the private sector to make sure we’re well represented globally. … I’m just going to ask good people to do professional work.”