The City and County’s Crisis Outreach Response and Engagement Program (CORE) has a new — very large — set of wheels that officials hope will propel the fledgling unit forward in its necessary goal to support and serve Oahu’s homeless population. Called CORE Bus, the retired city bus gutted and retrofitted with an array of tools, equipment and supplies debuted as a next-step addition to a small fleet of two ambulances and four SUVs.

There are high aspirations for the humble, aging vehicle that’s already clocked 1.4 million miles, as CORE expands essential work to transfer homeless off the streets and into shelters, medical respites like Leahi or in Aala, or the mobile Homeless Outreach and Navigation for Unsheltered Persons (HONU) now in Aiea. Community health workers, emergency medical technicians, supervisors and managers largely rely on smaller transports capable of carrying just one or two people, voiding the possibility of assistance to larger groups and special circumstance cases. Adapting to increased groupings of unsheltered communities, CORE wisely recognized the need for a capacious, mobile and versatile care platform that could serve as a blueprint for future expanded program offerings.

With enough room for 29 people, CORE Bus is equipped with standard bus seats, stretchers for the nonambulatory, kennels for pets and ample space to accommodate personal items. These are not small considerations. Unsheltered people have refused transport when faced with the prospect of leaving animals or belongings behind to an unknown fate. Other stocked amenities include clothing, adult diapers and hygiene supplies.

Honolulu Emergency Services Department (HESD) Director Jim Ireland told the Star-Advertiser that CORE Bus will preliminarily roll out once a week to Downtown Honolulu and Chinatown, with additional venues and operations to be evaluated at a later date. That leaves open the option of expanding service to high-density areas, where entrenched unsheltered are loath to leave their communities. HESD Deputy Director Ian Santee last week said CORE will use the bus to transport groups of consenting homeless from “massive encampments” to respites.

CORE Bus arrives at a time ripe for action. In June, Gov. Josh Green signed into law Senate Bill 3139, which creates a crisis intervention and diversion services program within the state Department of Health to direct “persons experiencing mental health disorders and co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders” to health care facilities. Importantly, a “mental health emergency worker” is defined and can be called by law enforcement officers to gain control over a mentally ill person for emergency examination and treatment. This new process is directed at homeless communities, allowing city personnel to more efficiently funnel those with mental health disorders into DOH’s structure, where they will receive proper care and rehabilitation, rather than the criminal justice system.

Also in June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed the Oregon town of Grants Pass, and thereby cities across the country, to enact and maintain anti-camping laws used to regulate street-bound homeless populations. It opens the door to stricter laws governing encampments on city streets, should the City Council choose to pursue such avenues in its homeless-curbing efforts. Ireland noted that CORE Bus was not a preparatory response to the Grants Pass ruling — nor does he view the initiative as tacit support for street living.

“We do not want to enable people to continue to live on sidewalks or in parks,” Ireland said. “We want to engage and support transportation to one of the many options we now have and then find them something more permanent to help people escape homelessness.”

Staffing considerations must be taken into account, and funding must not become an issue. But CORE Bus appears to be a string in the city’s bow to humanely draw down its unsheltered populace, and to get them the help they need.