The county of Honolulu is working with Mayor Kirk Caldwell to expand development of the Housing First program, which aims at providing housing to homeless individuals across the state. On October 7th, Caldwell joined with the United States Veterans Association to execute $2.2 million worth of funding to the Housing First program, according to Khon2 News. With this additional funding, 100 households will be opened to individuals experiencing homelessness.
“We are all in this canoe together and have a fundamental obligation to care for our most vulnerable,” said Governor Kirk Caldwell, according to the official Housing First Website. “We’re showing that housing first can work on Oahu and I ask for the continued support of the community to help more people through providing permanent, supportive housing.”
According to the Office of Housing website, there are 4,940 homeless individuals living on the island of Oahu. Roughly 12.8% of this population has severe mental disabilities, and 12.6% suffer from chronic substance abuse.
Emma Jugganaikloo, a sophomore studying peacebuilding from Idaho, said, “I feel there are so many homeless because of the fact that we live on an expensive island that has natural limitations... Housing is expensive, so people could find themselves homeless if they’re unable to afford it.”
Victor Kaufusi, professor of social work, has lived in Hawaii since 2007 and said, “There’s always room for improvement, especially in social services with the stigma and funding cuts that we see. I’ve been very impressed by some of these grassroots movements to adjust homelessness.”
According to the Hawaii Tribune Herald, “Housing First provides permanent housing to homeless people without demanding sobriety or other conditions before placement. The approach is recognized as a leading way to help chronically homeless people with mental disabilities or substance abuse problems.”
After one year of operation on Oahu, the program had a 97% success rate, according to Star Advertiser. Out of the 166 individuals who were housed by the program, 161 individuals felt that the program was beneficial and remain in housing today. In addition to these results, 52% of individuals reported no alcohol consumption while in the program, and 65% reported no drug use, according to the University of Hawaii.
Kaufusi said, “Like with any program that’s introduced, it’s never perfect at first, but I like the direction that it is going. Not only are they trying to provide housing, they are trying to address some of these underlying issues.” He said the program gives him hope and “is why we want students to look for innovative ways to address this issue, and Housing First is a great model that has been effective in other states.”
Mahera Ahmed, a senior studying psychology at UH, said she wasn’t surprised when first exposed to homelessness in Hawaii. “Knowing the prices here, I assumed there would be a lot of homeless people compared to where I lived in California... I think [organizations] are doing a pretty good job because I have seen less throughout my last three years here.”
Jugganaikloo said, “I have worked with homeless people before. It’s a very eye opening experience. I have a lot of love for the individuals. They are generally very grateful, open-minded, and good-spirited people.”
One way people can help is to write advocacy letters to politicians, according to Kaufusi. He said, “In surrounding communities, there are homelessness issues. Go to community meetings, see where the needs are, and lend a hand.” He said BYUH students interested in helping should go to the homeless shelter in Hau‘ula run by Pastor Sage.
Writer: Hyram Yarbro