Q. What are some of the new initiatives at the Institute for Human Services?

A. Just last year we started out a community re-entry program for recently released offenders. Those are guys who are coming out of jail or on probation or parole. We've been really heartened by the response of some of the folks that have come out. The employment program is one that we walk people through the process of looking for the first job that they've had in a long time. It's really getting used to the idea of what kind of skills they need, learning how to interview with people. I know those services are out there in the community, but the fact that some of those people have arrived here and having those services right here in the shelter is really great to connect them up with the service right away.

Q. Are there plans to expand IHS?

A. This past year we added a number of beds to both our single women's shelter and some to the family shelter so we're now serving at least five more families. We're expanding services without having to expand buildings. On the single women, we went from servicing 60 to just over 90. We're trying hard not to get into having to invest in a lot of brick and mortar for more emergency shelters and are trying to look at supporting permanent affordable housing and permanent low-income housing.

Q. Is funding a major challenge?

A. It is because we never know from year to year how much money will be available to do the services. We want to tap into different funding streams so that we're not totally reliant on one. We have a very varied population here so there are different kinds of grants that we can ask for that pertain to a subpopulation within our shelter. But it's always tough because every year you never know whether the public is going to be there for us. In reality, they have. They've been so gracious.

Q. Is there a stigma attached to the IHS?

A. A lot of times people have their preconceived ideas about homeless people in general. IHS, having been in the business for 30 years now, people just think we have a lot of people who are just mentally ill or on drugs and alcohol. But in actuality there is just such a diverse group of folks who we serve here at the two shelters, and it is two separate buildings with three different programs: one for single men, single women and families.

Q. You began your career as a nurse. Was that the profession that you always wanted?

A. When I got out of high school I thought, "Should I be a journalist or should I be a nurse?" What got me into nursing was my dad suffered from some illnesses that really required a lot of care. Even as a child growing up, I felt like I was caring for him, so I went off in that direction. There was also almost a sure thing that I would always be employed.

Q. How did you wind up on the administrative side?

A. I started off being a clinician and I still consider myself a clinician at heart. I was at the State Hospital, and the more I found myself involved in programmatic and systems issues, it kind of made me think I don't want to just be complaining about any leadership that I don't like. I wanted to see whether I could actually take on leadership roles.

Q. What were your responsibilities at the hospital?

A. I started off as a clinician, but then I moved into managing the admissions and stabilization units. When the director of nursing left, I applied for that position and did in fact become the director of nursing there.

Q. How did you wind up at IHS?

A. I was looking for an opportunity to work in a leadership position that would allow me some latitude and the freedom to really impact a system or a workplace environment in a positive way. I always had thought about IHS as a well-respected nonprofit, and I admired the mission of Father Claude Du Teil when he had started it. In fact I met him when I was a college student and he had come to my church to share what he was doing at IHS. I liked the history, the legacy that he left and I was looking for another challenge.

Q. What are some of the differences between working for the state and a nonprofit?

A. The funding issues are big, but the plus side is that it really doesn't take as long to enact change in an organization that isn't saddled with a lot of bureaucracy. The state system offers a lot in terms of the security it offers its employees or the protection it affords people. However, when we're talking about making changes and impacting people and creating new programs, you can't do it as quickly when you're in the state system because there are so many different things that prevent you from really doing what you want to be able to do.

Q. Any surprises since you joined IHS?

A. The complexity of all the services that we provide was a little bit of a surprise to me, but a pleasant one. It was something that I had to really take some time to get to know and to find out that we really offer so much more than just emergency food and shelter. There's just so much more going on here in terms of supporting people. We're placing people in housing. We're looking at finding employment for them. We're looking at helping them access other services, like medical services, mental health services, substance abuse services, that really do make a huge difference in people's lives.

Q. Is your background as a nurse and administrator helping at IHS, or is it a totally different kind of job?

A. It is very helpful to have had the kinds of experiences that I had. I come into this position with a different set of eyes because I'm a nurse and I have definitely focused on that piece a little bit more. When I came in, I felt like we really needed to have screening from the get-go, before someone even entered into the shelter. Trying to get medical services and health services for our folks here has really been a challenge. But I've been very blessed that both Hawai'i Pacific University and the University of Hawai'i have nursing departments that are very supportive. We have nursing students coming through all the time. For me, being a nurse means that you're always going through this nursing process of assessing and collecting information and developing plans and trying to evaluate those plans. That's kind of ingrained in me and that's what I generally do when I step into any situation. It's about problem solving, but also looking at a whole system and how it works together.

Q. What do you hope to accomplish while at IHS?

A. I'm really looking to help the organization become more structurally sound in the sense that we have a lot of functions that are put in place with structures to support them so that our staff is supported. We have a good staff development program that really equips people to deal with people more effectively, and also to bring the resources in to be able to do the kind of program evaluation that I really want to do. A lot of that has to do with developing our IT infrastructure more so that data is at our fingertips about who we're serving and how we're doing and what kind of outcomes we're getting. I believe that our funders want to know how effective we are. I would want to know as a funder how effective we are. I really am committed to that. To do what we want to do, we'll have to be fiscally sound and that's really important to me. A lot of times when you're a nonprofit, sometimes you either don't pay attention too much to the fiscal piece, or that becomes all-consuming and we forget about the mission. To me that's always a constant challenge, to be able to balance both of those things.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.