Key members of Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s Cabinet say they intend to provide by May 1 a rough draft of an action plan to deal with homelessness on Oahu.

Community Services Director Pamela Witty-Oakland and Jun Yang, Caldwell’s executive director on housing, made the promise to members of the City Council Public Safety and Human Services Committees at a meeting on Monday.

Yang said preliminary discussions with Witty-Oakland’s staff and nonprofit groups have focused on placing homeless people directly into traditional housing such as apartments, instead of shelters, before tackling issues such as mental and physical health, substance abuse, education or employment.

The approach, called "scattered-site Housing First," was made popular by the not-for-profit group Pathways to Housing.

The city hopes to include the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine and other community agencies and groups in its discussions, Yang said.

The discussion was held in response to Resolution 13-55, introduced by three Council members who want the administration to come up with a comprehensive plan to address homelessness by May 1.

Asked by Councilman Stanley Chang whether that’s enough time, Witty-Oakland said the administration will at least be able to come up with "something that’s going to start the dialogue and solutions by then for you."

Council Public Safety Chairwoman Carol Fukunaga said keeping to a May 1 deadline will give the Council time to put money in the city operating budget if necessary, while providing a clearer picture of what type of funding may be coming from federal and state coffers.

The Caldwell administration has not designated any money in its $2 billion budget for the effort, Yang said. However, the city anticipates that about $35 million could be made available from the impending sale of its affordable housing stock to a private developer, a deal expected to close by the fall, Witty-Oakland said.

Meanwhile, the focus is on looking at what resources may already be available in the community, Yang said.

"We’re talking with our nonprofit partners in the community," Yang said. "We’re talking to businesses."