The state should prepare for a "wave" of new homeless if more isn't done to keep struggling families in their homes, social-service advocates warned lawmakers yesterday.

"In Hawai'i, we're facing very hard times to come," Kathleen Hasegawa, executive director of Hawai'i Habitat for Humanity, told members of the state House committees on housing and human services. The bleak economy could "result in a new wave of homeless," she added.

That wave doesn't appear to have started yet, advocates say, probably because the families suffering layoffs or cutbacks in work hours have a small financial cushion, either in the form of savings or with credit cards.

Still, homeless service providers say they are getting more and more calls from people asking for help on rent payments or looking for options should they be forced into homelessness. Advocates also pointed out that many in the Islands live paycheck-to-paycheck — and even before the economic downturn, thousands were teetering close to homelessness.

A 2007 state report estimated more than 85,000 households in the Islands were at risk of homelessness. The definition includes households that would be homeless in less than three months if they lost their primary source of income or those who are three paychecks from homelessness.

Doran Porter, executive director of the Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance, which runs service programs and drop-in centers for the homeless, said there is almost no doubt that homelessness will get worse over the coming year. "It definitely will hit us," he said.

Nonprofits have already seen big increases in need for emergency services, from requests for free food pantries to help on rent and utility payments. The agencies — including those that serve the homeless — are grappling with the increased need while seeing their funding sources (donations, state grants and giving from foundations) dry up.

HOW THE STATE CAN HELP

In the hearing on homelessness yesterday at the state Capitol, advocates said the state needs to be thinking of ways to keep people in their homes, and at least one advocate suggested the state look at providing emergency funds to families for rent or mortgages.

Advocates also said that the lack of affordable housing is still a big concern. And although building housing in tough times won't be easy, they said that decent homes families can afford are needed now more than ever.

"During these hard times, this is the time we really need to step forward," said Kent Anderson, executive director of Family Promise, an emergency homeless shelter for families. "Let's get creative."

TIGHTENING BUDGET

The discussion comes as the state is facing an increasingly tight budget, and the governor is warning nonprofits to brace for cuts to make up for a mounting deficit. Advocates urged lawmakers yesterday to keep homelessness a top priority in the coming session. But that could be tough given other competing needs, from infrastructure to schools.

Still, lawmakers pledged to do their best.

"There are no throwaway people," said state Rep. John Mizuno, chairman of the House Committee on Human Services, in the hearing. "We don't necessarily have to say we're going to do more with less. We should probably say we're going to do more in a better manner."

Over the last several years, the state has poured tens of millions of dollars into a massive effort to address the homelessness crisis, which includes wholly or partially funding several homeless shelters. And a recent report showed the push has worked to get hundreds of people off the streets.

The University of Hawai'i study, which was based on statistics reported to the state, showed there were 6,733 people in homeless shelters statewide in 2007 — up about 19 percent from the year before.

The report attributed the increase largely to more shelters opening.

Russ Saito, state comptroller and the governor's special adviser on homelessness, told lawmakers yesterday that now that the emergency and transitional shelters are open, they're going to need continued funding to remain open.

"We built them," he said, "now they got to be sustained."

He also said the state still has a lot of work to do in addressing its homeless crisis. "We need to have additional shelters ... (such as) shelters for people with special needs," Saito said, during the two-hour hearing.

He added that the state's Next Step shelter in Kaka'ako remains on a month-to-month lease and could be asked to vacate at any time. In the last legislative session, Saito asked for $20 million to build a new urban shelter to replace Next Step, which is housed in a warehouse.

Lawmakers gave the project no money, though, citing a tightening budget and concerns about the lack of details on where the new shelter would be built. Saito added he continues to look for a long-term solution for Next Step that includes "no out-of-pocket costs for the state."