THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

134

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

URGing the Governor to convene a task force to address the continual need and unmet demand for transitional housing AND SOCIAL WELFARE facilities IN THE STATE.

 

 

WHEREAS, despite building a record number of affordable rentals units and implementing a program that reduced homelessness in Hawaii by forty per cent; and providing millions of dollars in funding for emergency shelters, outreach programs, and homeless services, more work can and remains to be done; and

WHEREAS, barely three weeks after the State's new Onemalu homeless shelter at Kalaeloa opened, it was nearly two-thirds full--an indication of the continual need for transitional housing facilities, particularly in Leeward Oahu where the State operates two other shelters, both of which are always full; and

WHEREAS, persistent demands to enact laws prohibiting camping and sleeping in public areas--when communities clearly know they do not have enough shelter beds to meet demand--is a reflection of conflicting federal, state, and county policies and programs to alleviate the root causes of homelessness; and

WHEREAS, the unmet demand for transitional housing, the cutting of about twelve hundred families from the welfare rolls in December 2001, and the abrupt downturn in the State's economy will have a huge impact on those individuals who are most vulnerable to harm--mentally ill people, women and children; and

WHEREAS, in order to alleviate the root causes of homelessness, government needs clear and consistent objectives and policies to respect the civil rights of homeless people, and protect the most vulnerable segments of our homeless population from harm; and

WHEREAS, our values and mores and attitudes toward homelessness and homeless people are often shaped by ignorance and prejudice, are sometimes shaped by concerns for plummeting property values and public safety, and are rarely shaped by compassion and empathy for those less fortunate; and

WHEREAS, rather than providing an open invitation to engage "finger-pointing", the study by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty represents an unprecedented opportunity for communities to reconsider their values and mores and attitudes toward homelessness and homeless people; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Governor is urged to convene a task force to address the continual need and unmet demand for transitional housing facilities in the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor, with the assistance of the task force, is urged to:

(1) Conduct a study to site and construct transitional (homeless) shelters, including facilities for social services agencies, community health agencies, and public safety agencies statewide, including outlying areas such as Kalaeloa and on other underutilized parcels of state, county, and federal land;

(2) Conduct a study to identify alternate sites located outside the boundaries of Downtown Neighborhood Board No. 13 for the purposes of providing social services, community health services, and public safety services to homeless people and other people who reside outside the boundaries of Neighborhood Board No. 13;

(3) Propose financing options, including state-federal partnerships and the conveyance of under-utilized federal lands to the State, for the purposes of constructing homeless shelters statewide, including facilities for these social services agencies, community health agencies, and public safety agencies; and

(4) Propose financing options for the purposes of funding these social services, community health services, and public safety services statewide;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be composed of representatives statewide from the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of federal, state, and county government, including the University of Hawaii and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; state and county law enforcement agencies; public and private community-based health agencies, including agencies that serve homeless people, mentally ill people, women and children; business groups, including the Hawaii Business Roundtable and The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is urged to submit the Governor's findings and recommendations to the Legislature not less than twenty days prior to the Regular Session of 2003; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; the Chief Justice; the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees Office of Hawaiian Affairs; the Mayors of the City and County of Honolulu, Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii; the Chairpersons of the respective county councils; the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation; the Chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii; the President of the University of Hawaii; the Chairperson of the Hawaii Business Roundtable; and the President of The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

Report Title:

Homelessness Taskforce; Homeless, Transitional Shelters