GOVERNOR LINGLE DEDICATES STATE'S SECOND SHELTER FOR HOMELESS LEEWARD COAST FAMILIES

For Immediate Release: March 15, 2007

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle today officially opened an emergency transitional shelter for homeless families who had been living on beaches and in parks along the Leeward Coast of O‘ahu.  The new shelter, the fourth to open by the state or with state funding in less than a year, is part of the Lingle-Aiona Administration’s efforts to work with the community and other partners to find solutions to the homeless problem in Hawai‘i. 

The shelter, which previously has been referred to as the Wai‘anae Civic Center site, is named Pai‘olu Kaiāulu, meaning “lift of encouragement as the journey begins.”  Since the doors opened on March 1, 64 people (35 adults and 29 children), including 11 families, four couples and six single adults, have moved into the facility.  The shelter will accommodate approximately 300 people when fully occupied.

“Pai‘olu Kaiāulu is another collaborative effort by the state and community to provide temporary housing for homeless families and individuals where they can also receive supportive services that will lead to self-sufficiency,” said Governor Lingle.  “While there is more work ahead as we continue to help our fellow residents who are homeless, today is about celebrating the opportunities that Pai‘olu Kaiāulu offers, and the hope for a better life.”

The families and single men and women who stay at the shelter will complete a plan to identify and address their needs in areas such as life skills development, job skills education, entrepreneurial training, basic education, child nurturing, and substance abuse counseling and treatment.  Adults currently not working will be required to participate in programs available at the shelter to strengthen their families and support their efforts to become self-sufficient. 

“Many caring people in the public and private sectors have been working together with a common goal of providing the homeless a place to call home while they receive services and assistance to get a new start for themselves and their children,” said Kaulana Park, who Governor Lingle appointed to serve as the HEART (Homeless Efforts Achieving Results Together) team leader.  “We are providing an environment that will support the homeless as they take the next step to overcoming barriers that are currently making it impossible to find permanent housing.”

U.S. VETS Hawai‘i has been contracted by the Hawai‘i Public Housing Authority (HPHA) to operate and manage the shelter and provide social services and security.  U.S. VETS is partnering with several non-profit organizations to provide supportive services, including Wai‘anae Community Outreach, Honolulu Community Action Program, Wai‘anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, Ho‘omau Ke Ola and Hale Na‘au.  These agencies are working with U.S. VETS to identify and screen homeless families and individuals for admittance to the program and to ensure that necessary services are available to residents.

"U.S. VETS is proud to be a part of an incredible team determined to end homelessness in Hawai‘i,” said Darryl J. Vincent, site director of U.S. VETS Hawai‘i.  “Through our partnerships with the Department of Veteran Affairs and Department of Labor, we have been successful in reintegrating homeless veterans back into mainstream employment and housing.  With our new collaboration with the State of Hawai‘i, Wai‘anae social service providers, and Wai‘anae community, we plan to adopt this same model with this new emergency housing program, while remaining culturally sensitive. 

“Our most important collaboration in this program will be with the residents themselves,” added Vincent.  “No one in this great state should ever go hungry or be without shelter.  We hope to give our residents a hand up to a new life, a second chance, and we are going to need the people of Hawai‘i to give them a second chance, too.  To end a problem of this magnitude, we all need to be in this together.”

Pai‘olu Kaiāulu features two main Sprung structures made with a durable, flexible fabric stretched over aluminum rib frames.  One structure has 62 living units for families, while the second has 55 units for singles and couples, for a total of 117 units.  The units range in size from 80 to 144 square feet, with 8-feet-high walls, a lockable door, and a window in most units.  Each unit is partially furnished with beds, a dresser, a place to hang clothes and shelving.  A third structure, which connects the two resident structures, contains a common area for meeting and socializing, a conference room, counseling space, computer training area and offices for the social service providers, management and security staff.  All of the furnishings in the living units and common areas were donated by the U.S. Navy.

Six modular-type buildings provide separate restrooms and showers for men and women, and a separate laundry area offers six coin-operated washers and six dryers.

Breakfast and dinner will be prepared at off-site facilities and served every weekday in the common dining area.  On the weekends, residents will be provided with a late breakfast or bag lunch as well as dinner.  Residents can use an outdoor barbecue area.  However due to limited county sewage capacity, indoor kitchen facilities could not be provided to prepare meals on-site.  Refrigeration space is available, with priority given to perishable items such as infant formula, milk and medication. 

Construction by the State Department of Accounting and General Services was completed last month.  The cost of the facility is estimated at $7.6 million (from the State’s general fund), which includes consultants, contractors, landscaping and other project costs. 

Progress on Homeless Solutions
Pai‘olu Kaiāulu is one of several solutions the Lingle-Aiona Administration is working on to help Hawai‘i's homeless.  The Administration has been collaborating with the community, developers, military, faith-based organizations, social service providers and counties to identify appropriate properties to use as emergency, transitional and affordable housing facilities.

In September, the Administration opened the Onelau‘ena facility at a former military housing building at Kalaeloa.  The shelter, which houses 225 people, including more than 100 children, is managed by Wai‘anae Community Outreach.  In October, the Waipahu Lighthouse Outreach Shelter, funded by a $402,895 grant from the State’s Homeless Stipend Program, opened its doors and currently serves between 85 to 100 people nightly.  The Next Step Shelter in Kaka‘ako, which opened last May, houses more than 300 people who had been living at Ala Moana Beach Park, before it was abruptly closed to them.

The state is also working collaboratively with the Hawai‘i Coalition of Christian Churches (HCCC) to build a new emergency, transitional and affordable rental project in Wai‘anae called Kahikolu ‘Ohana Hale ‘O Wai‘anae.  The first phase of the project, which broke ground in December and is expected to be completed in January 2008, will feature 64 units and 40 dorm beds.  The state is providing $10.9 million in funding for the project.  The Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corporation is leasing the property to HCCC for $1.00 per year for 30 years.

Another project at the Voice of America site in Ma‘ili would house approximately 220 people.  This transitional village would include a community center, which will be partially funded by Kamehameha Schools.  Additional plans would include a 240-unit affordable rental project adjacent to the village.  The project is pending transfer of the land from the federal government to the state.

On Kaua‘i, the island’s first government-funded emergency shelter is expected to open in June, and a transitional housing facility is targeted to open in July.  The project is being developed by Kaua‘i County on state land Governor Lingle transferred to the County by executive order. 

Additional Funding for Homeless, Affordable Housing Programs Proposed
The Lingle-Aiona Administration is proposing an additional $128 million in operating funds and general obligation bonds in its biennium budget to build on the progress being made on homeless solutions and affordable housing.  This amount includes $13 million for support services at homeless shelters, double the current budget.  An additional $10 million will be used for much-needed maintenance and repair of vacant units in public housing projects.  This will be coupled with $40 million for major repairs and renovations to public housing buildings statewide.   Under the Administration’s proposal, the Rental Housing Trust Fund will receive an infusion of $50 million in general funds over two years to leverage with private and non-profit developers to build more affordable rental units.

In addition, $14.4 million is proposed for a North Kona water system to open up state lands for construction of 2,500 affordable homes.  The Administration is also seeking legislative approval to accelerate the annual payment ($30 million) to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, allowing them to spend $90 million from the Trust Fund during the biennium to continue their progress of placing native Hawaiian families into homes.

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For further information contact:

Lenny Klompus 
Senior Advisor - Communications
Phone: (808) 586-7708

Russell Pang
Chief of Media Relations
Phone:  (808) 586-0043

Kaulana Park
HEART Team Leader
Phone: (808) 586-3806