The related issues of affordable housing and homelessness should be among the top priorities on the 2009 legislative agenda.

This year, with public housing ranking among the targeted concerns for the economic stimulus funds, Hawai'i needs a coordinated plan of attack to fully leverage federal dollars with state and county funds. To get the best bang for the buck, all of our elected leaders and housing officials have to be on the same page.

Housing and homelessness are somewhat distinct concerns — helping the homeless also includes a large component of assistance with employment and social services — but they're part of the same continuum. For the homeless to transition out of emergency shelters, there needs to be rentals to accommodate them.

Affordable rentals are in short supply and market-priced homes are moving beyond reach. Even under the best of circumstances, many families in low-income housing have been a paycheck away from homelessness. And these are not the best of circumstances; most social service experts expect homelessness will continue rising.

To that end, key committees at the Legislature seem poised and armed with the right policies aimed at coordinating efforts at city and state levels.

Norman Sakamoto, Senate housing chairman, said he wants to explore ways to use some of the state's rental trust fund to support transit-oriented development along Honolulu's transit line. That's encouraging: Meshing city-state redevelopment strategies for the benefit of affordable and low-income rentals would be a worthwhile goal.

More immediately, economic woes have soured prospects for financing critically needed low-income rentals, with the Kukui Gardens redevelopment project most prominently in the public eye. Those involved in the financing arrangements are hopeful that some kind of deal can be struck, but an extra assist will be needed to cover the $5 million needed.

Some advocates say improving the terms for state tax credit incentives would make financing easier, but the recession makes tax credits a tough sell in any case.

A better solution to kickstart low-income housing projects should come from the Congressional delegation in D.C., especially Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The problem is a national one and deserves greater attention: Advocates say many low-income developments across the country face perils similar to Hawai'i's.

They can be helped through the federal Housing and Urban Development HOME block grant program for state and local affordable housing. These funds should be extended to projects that also tap tax-credit options, which appear to be ineffective in this economy.

The federal stimulus package also is expected to include roughly $45 million to help restore the Islands' public housing units to the inventory; additional block grants to cities such as Honolulu also have been proposed.

Whatever money is bound for Hawai'i, state officials must ensure it is spent efficiently and with transparency to bring more public housing units online. The economic boost that comes from quick deployment of the funds is crucial.

Other initiatives that should be pursued this session:

• The allocation of the conveyance tax to the rental housing trust fund must be extended to June 30, 2013. Lawmakers may have to fight to boost the fund's share to 50 percent of the tax, as Senate Bill 773 proposes, because there are many competing interests.

• Senate Bill 1182 would pull together scattered state services for the homeless into a new Office of Homeless and Community Services, under the Department of Human Services. That's a sensible idea, if it can be accomplished at no additional cost.

• The Democratic majority seeks to maintain funding for the homeless services at current levels, said Sen. Suzanne Chun-Oakland, who chairs the human services committee. It will be a tough battle to accomplish this, given budget constraints, but it's the right thing to do.

Maintaining the safety net for the homeless, especially during a period when more hardship is looming, will be the mark of success in a challenging lawmaking session. Caring for its most vulnerable people is a core value in Hawai'i, one that must not be cast aside, especially when the going gets tough.