Hawaiʻi Interagency Council on Homelessness legislative priorities: $218M

The Hawaiʻi Interagency Council on Homelessness has adopted its 2019 legislative priorities. The highest cost item at $200 million is funding for low-income housing. Gavin Thornton briefed the council on the Partners in Care recommendation.

“We’re asking for $200 million for low income housing making that the new baseline and then, investing $75 million of that $200 million over the course of 10 years—$750 million—we can provide housing and wrap-around services for the 1,700 chronically homeless in Hawaiʻi.”

Thornton says the 10-year investment could save up to $2 billion in emergency medical costs currently being spent on the homeless. Katy Miller, the western regional director for the National Interagency Council on Homelessness, says affordable housing will be integrated into the federal strategy and will be tied to services aimed at ending and preventing homelessness.

“So once someone has gotten into permanent housing, ensuring that they don’t re-enter homelessness and making sure that they’re connected to supports like employment and education to support upward mobility, providing connections to health and behavioral health, healthcare, child care, school, family support and other resources.”

The Interagency Council also wants to launch pilot programs for rental housing assistance to families and kūpuna. The proposed cost is $2 million. 

Again, Partners in Care representative Thornton: “Looking at those families that are experiencing homelessness, they have kids in the home, they are working but they are not making enough to afford the rent. So this would provide a relatively shallow subsidy to those families. The other pilot program is focused on kūpuna. The idea behind this is that we need to provide them with a long-term subsidy.”