Homeless programs get $6.7 million

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

More than $6.7 million in federal grants has been awarded to Hawai'i programs that house and serve the homeless, and much of that will be used to supply permanent housing for the state's growing homeless population.

Mark Chandler, HUD's director of community planning and development for Hawai'i, said this is the third consecutive year that the grants have been increased.

"Last year, we got $5.5 million and that was more than the year before," Chandler said. "We are slowly making an increase each year."

He said Congress allocates the money to each state based on population, housing needs and other issues.

"We can get above that pro-rata share if we do things like permanent housing," Chandler said. "In this case, Hawai'i has made permanent housing one of its objectives, so we get a little bonus for that."

The programs that provide care to the homeless are part of a federal continuum of care that provides permanent and transitional housing to homeless people, as well as job training, healthcare, mental-health counseling, substance-abuse treatment and childcare.

One of the recipients is Catholic Charities' Community and Immigrant Services program, which was given a grant of $42,287.

Joni Chun, acting executive director of the program, said the money will be used for its education and employment program at the Kawaihae Traditional Housing Program on the Big Island.

The program, in its third year of federal financing, provides basic education, job training and English classes to the homeless, low-income people and immigrants.

About 42 families a year find homes through the program, which has a housing retention rate of 92 percent, Chun said. That means that after they are placed in permanent housing, they stay for at least six months.

"Education is a key to increasing their household income," Chun said. "It is a critical element of the program."

Chun said with the federal emphasis on permanent housing, it is getting harder to find money sources for other programs.

"It is getting tougher to secure and maintain programs because there is more of an interest to build new housing units, but we also need to sustain services in shelters," Chun said. "I think we are making a significant impact in the community."

According to research, about 10 percent of all homeless people are considered long-term or chronic and are mentally ill, addicted or physically disabled. This group uses more than half of all emergency shelter resources designated to assist the homeless.

By shifting money to meet their needs with permanent housing, experts believe more resources will become available for those who are homeless temporally.

Housing and Urban Development acting Secretary Alphonso Jackson said this is the third consecutive year that money for homeless assistance has increased to record levels, and that never before has any U.S. agency awarded so much financial aid to help the homeless.

"These grants renew our pledge to thousands of local programs who are on the front lines of helping house and serve our homeless neighbors," Jackson said.

HUD's Continuum of Care and Emergency Shelter Grant programs will provide critically needed money to more than 3,700 local programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As a result, more than 700,000 people will receive the housing and services they need to become self-sufficient.

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.