Chronically homeless getting apartments in Honolulu

HONOLULU (AP) - The state is part of an effort to get 30 chronically homeless people off the streets and moved in to Oahu apartments by June.

Give people stepped into their new homes last week, including Michael Kamahana, who said he has now been given “a whole new start” at the age of 61, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports (https://bit.ly/2nDvRXK).

The state is working with Honolulu officials and social service agencies to get homeless residents into two apartment complexes in Honolulu under the state’s Housing First program. The homeless residents will also get moved in to market-rate rental units across Oahu, where they will have access to social services for help with drug and alcohol problems and mental illness.

“We’re getting the people with the highest needs off of the streets and putting them in a stable place where they can get better and not return to homelessness,” said Scott Morishige, the state’s homeless coordinator. “We know that when you pair people with severe mental health and substance abuse issues with housing, their condition improves dramatically.”

The efforts will continue through May, when the last of 30 chronically homeless people are expected to be placed into housing.

“It’s all converging at one time,” said Jay Parasco, homeless initiatives coordinator for the city’s Department of Community Services. “Doing a large chunk of 30 people at once is a scale we’re not accustomed to. It seems like a logistical nightmare, but all the pieces are coming into place.”

State officials said the University of Hawaii’s Center on the Family will monitor the residents’ progress. The goal is to fill the gaps that often prevent people from securing housing or having access to social services.

Kamahana, who hasn’t slept in a permanent home in eight years, said he had been “anxious” to go inside his new apartment last week. But after seeing the renovated studio apartment, which features a new gas stove and refrigerator, he said the unit was “very nice.”

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Information from: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, https://www.staradvertiser.com