HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2281

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that homelessness is one of the most pressing problems in Hawaii and requires a robust, comprehensive effort to increase the pace at which Hawaii addresses homelessness.  In 2017, for the first time in years, Hawaii's homelessness rate decreased.  Hawaii is turning the tide on the homelessness crisis by investing in proven programs such as housing first and rapid rehousing.  The network of people and resources engaged in addressing homelessness has begun to make more efficient use of available resources by implementing a data-driven, collaborative process that matches those experiencing homelessness with the services they need.  However, Hawaii continues to have the highest per capita rate of homelessness of any state in the United States, with an estimated 7,220 homeless people living on the streets and in temporary shelters.  Given the magnitude of Hawaii's homelessness problem, the State needs to increase its investment in, and commitment to, a solution.

     The legislature further finds that addressing homelessness requires a multi-faceted approach using proven interventions that are targeted to particular characteristics of the homeless population and address the root causes of homelessness.  First and foremost, Hawaii needs more housing that is affordable to low-income families.  Hawaii has the highest housing costs in the nation, and the lowest wages after adjustment for the cost of living.  The greatest need is for housing that is affordable to residents at the lowest end of the income scale, with incomes at thirty per cent or below the area median income.  Much like housing provided through the State's low-income public housing program, building housing for this income demographic will require significant government subsidies.  Also, the Hawaii public housing authority manages hundreds of units that are vacant due to the need for major repairs, and these units could be rapidly brought back into service to assist homeless and extremely low-income families.

     The legislature further finds that in addition to affordable housing, Hawaii needs to sustain programs that connect people experiencing homelessness with critical services and housing, and programs that provide services such as outreach, rapid rehousing, rent supplements, housing first, assistance at Oahu's family assessment center, law enforcement assisted diversion, and substance abuse treatment.

     Moreover, the legislature recognizes that outreach is critically necessary to connect people to all available housing options such as emergency shelters, transitional shelters, housing first, rapid rehousing with rent stipends, and other assistance.  For many chronically homeless mentally ill persons, it may take fifty or more individual outreach contacts, over several months or years, to establish trust and move them off the streets.  Outreach teams may also perform wound care, distribute hygiene kits or snacks, and offer to obtain identification documents.  Housing first programs have proven effective in addressing homelessness for chronically homeless individuals, including those who have an addiction, mental illness, or both.

     The legislature recognizes that the success of housing first programs is attributable to its principles, which include:

     (1)  Moving chronically homeless individuals into housing directly from the streets and shelters without a precondition of accepting or complying with treatment;

     (2)  Providing robust support services for program participants that are predicated on assertive engagement rather than coercion;

     (3)  Granting chronically homeless individuals priority as program participants in housing first programs;

     (4)  Embracing a harm reduction approach to addictions rather than mandating abstinence while supporting program participant commitments to recovery; and

     (5)  Providing program participants with leases and tenant protections as provided by law.

     The legislature finds that, while costly, housing first programs are cost-effective.  Providing housing and services under the housing first program is less costly than the alternative of providing emergency services and other necessary services for unhoused chronically homeless persons.

     The legislature further finds that the State's efforts to combat homelessness would be enhanced by establishing an "ohana zones" program to provide housing to homeless individuals and families based on principles similar to housing first, but with more flexibility that allows for a higher degree of utilization.

     The legislature also finds that rapid rehousing and the State's rent supplement program have proven effective in securing and maintaining housing for working homeless individuals and families.  A significant segment of the homeless population has a stable source of income and only requires modest financial help and some housing stabilization services instead of full-scale subsidies and intensive, ongoing case management.  More than a quarter of Hawaii households fall into homelessness simply because they lack money to pay rent, but they have no other underlying issues.  For these individuals and families, a small subsidy may allow them to rapidly move out of shelters and into permanent homes.  Rapid rehousing provides struggling households with a one-time payment to cover delinquent rent, utility payments, or first month's rent and security deposit.  This one-time financial intervention is often all that families need to avoid homelessness or quickly bounce back from becoming homeless.  In contrast, the State's rent supplement program provides a "shallow" but sustained subsidy to struggling households.  Unlike the "deep" Section 8 subsidy program, which helps families at the lowest end of the income scale by bridging a wide affordability gap between income and housing costs, the State's rent supplement program helps households that are closer to financial self-sufficiency but that still have a narrow affordability gap to fill.  The program provides a small time-limited subsidy that wards off homelessness while providing time for families to close the affordability gap and achieve self-sufficiency.  Financial case management and counseling are critical to stabilizing these families for future sustainability in permanent housing.  Because individual subsidies under the rapid rehousing and state rent supplement programs are relatively low, the programs may resolve homelessness for a large number of individuals and families relative to the total cost of the subsidy program.

     Additionally, the legislature finds that the family assessment center, which was opened on Oahu in September 2016, has achieved extraordinary results over its first year of operation.  Out of fifty-four households served, ninety-one per cent were successfully housed.  The assessment center offers comprehensive services including benefit reviews and determinations, health assessments, service coordination, and housing placement.  This proven model can be replicated on the neighbor islands as an effective way to move families with children rapidly to permanent housing.  For example, on the island of Hawaii, a large parcel of land has been set aside to develop housing solutions for homelessness in Kona, where the need for localized services is particularly acute.

     Finally, to adequately address homelessness, the legislature recognizes that Hawaii needs to disrupt the ineffective, destructive, and expensive cycle of substance abuse addiction that leads to homelessness, arrest, incarceration, release, and a return to addiction and living on the streets.  The law enforcement assisted diversion program is a pre-booking diversion program that grants police officers the discretionary authority to redirect low-level offenders, who are typically drug-involved and homeless, to case managers if the offender consents to being assisted.

     The purpose of this Act is to:

     (1)  Establish within the department of human services an ohana zones program to provide housing to homeless individuals and families based on principles similar to housing first; and

     (2)  Appropriate moneys to the Hawaii public housing authority, the department of human services, and the department of health to support the State's most effective efforts to end homelessness:  public housing, outreach, rapid rehousing and the State's rent supplement program, housing first, Oahu's family assessment center, the law enforcement assisted diversion program, and civil legal services.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  There is established within the department of human services an ohana zones program to provide housing to homeless individuals and families based on principles similar to housing first.  The number and locations of the ohana zones shall be determined by the department.

     (b)  The department of human services shall develop and implement the program, which, at a minimum, shall provide the following facilities and services at each ohana zone site:

     (1)  Secure dwelling spaces that:

          (A)  May be private or communal;

          (B)  Have access to toilets, showers, and other hygiene facilities; and

          (C)  Have access to an area for food storage and meal preparation;

     (2)  Medical and social support services, which shall be onsite to the extent practicable;

     (3)  Onsite childcare;

     (4)  Transportation to school, employment, and any appointments related to medical care or supportive services that are not available onsite; and

     (5)  Any other facilities or services necessary to make the ohana zone site a suitable destination to which:

          (A)  Hospitals may directly discharge qualified patients; and

          (B)  Law enforcement agencies may divert, in lieu of arrest, persons apprehended during "sweeps" of homeless encampments.

     (c)  The department of human services shall coordinate with public or private state or county entities, as appropriate, to develop and implement the ohana zones program.

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the establishment of the ohana zones program and expenses related to facility construction, provision of services, staffing, and administrative costs.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the Hawaii public housing authority to provide public housing improvements and renovations statewide.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii public housing authority for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 5.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the department of human services to continue to administer housing first programs for chronically homeless individuals in the State.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 6.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the department of human services to continue to administer the rapid rehousing program to assist homeless individuals or families in obtaining or maintaining permanent housing and to cover housing stabilization services and administrative costs to operate the program.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 7.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the Hawaii public housing authority to administer a state rent supplement pilot program to assist one hundred currently homeless families with minor children or families with minor children at imminent risk of homelessness due to domestic violence in obtaining or maintaining permanent housing, by providing time-limited rental assistance of up to $         per month and financial case management by a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development certified financial counseling organization.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii public housing authority for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 8.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the department of human services to continue to administer the outreach services program to homeless persons, including but not limited to individuals and families with children and unaccompanied homeless youth, including $         for civil legal services.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 9.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the department of health to continue to administer outreach, counseling, and diversion for unsheltered homeless persons experiencing substance abuse, including $         to continue administering the law enforcement assisted diversion pilot program.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 10.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the department of human services to continue to administer the family assessment center for homeless families.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 11.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.


 


 

Report Title:

Homelessness; Housing; DHS; DOH; HPHA; Outreach; Rapid Rehousing; State Rent Supplement; Housing First; Ohana Zones; Oahu Family Assessment Center; Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Program; Appropriation

 

Description:

Establishes within the Department of Human Services an Ohana Zones program to provide housing to homeless individuals and families based on principles similar to Housing First and appropriates unspecified funds for the program.  Appropriates unspecified funds to the Department of Human Services and the Department of Health to continue to administer various housing and homelessness programs.  Appropriates unspecified funds to the Hawaii Public Housing Authority for public housing improvements and renovations statewide and a rent supplement pilot program.  (HB2281 HD1)

 

 

 

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