Plan for homelessness unveiled

The federally backed proposals
aim to end homelessness in
the isles within a decade

Four months after sending it to Washington for approval, the Lingle administration released Hawaii's plan yesterday for ending homelessness in the islands within 10 years.

Philip Mangano, the Bush administration's top homelessness official, visited the state Capitol yesterday and noted that periods of prosperity have been proved to lead to increases in homelessness.

By acknowledging that pattern, Hawaii, which is enjoying a booming economy, should be better able to plan for potential increases in the number of homeless people, said Mangano, director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Speaking before Gov. Linda Lingle and contributors to the plan, Mangano said Hawaii's plan makes the state better positioned to compete for federal funds and achieve an end to homelessness.

"I think if there's a place that can accomplish the objective of ending chronic homelessness in this country, I think we're sitting in that place, in that state, right now," Mangano said.

Hawaii was one of eight states chosen in 2002 to participate in a federal initiative known as the Homeless Policy Academy. The 23-member Interagency Council on Homelessness -- made up of state, local and private authorities on homelessness -- collaborated on the resulting plan, which took two years to create.

Lingle plans to lay out her proposals to combat homelessness during her Jan. 24 State of the State address.

Lingle has already proposed increasing the state's Rental Housing Trust Fund by $4 million over two years to address the state's housing crunch. She also plans to spend $10 million each year to renovate 900 existing public housing units and spend more on case management at homeless shelters.

According to the state's plan, there are about 3,200 homeless people in Hawaii. Problems with paying rent was the top reason given by homeless for losing housing, followed by family problems.

Among the homeless who had found shelter, the majority, 67 percent, had been homeless for less than one month, the report said. However, the majority of those who had no shelter, 51 percent, had been homeless for more than a year.

Lynn Maunakea, executive director at Oahu's only emergency shelter, the Institute for Human Services, called the plan a "great first step."

More data needs to be known about the homeless in Hawaii, including information on possible drug addiction and mental illness in the population, in order to have a plan that includes more specific steps to stopping homelessness, said Maunakea, who is a member of the council that created the plan.

But the plan has already achieved one of its most important goals, which is bringing attention to the problem, she said.