[3/17/16] Lloyd Pendleton, known for his no-nonsense efficiency in addressing homelessness in Utah, is in talks with Mayor Kirk Caldwell about a move to Oahu to help reduce the highest per capita homeless rate in the country.
Pendleton and Caldwell met for the first time Friday when Pendleton outlined his ideas to get more people off the streets of Honolulu. Caldwell then told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “I love the guy. I wanted to keep him here with us or clone him. He lived up to all of the expectations I had. He gets it.”
Pendleton — who describes his age as “75 and a half” — has officially retired as Utah’s homeless coordinator. But he constantly welcomes visitors to Salt Lake City — when he’s not touring the country speaking about how it became the second city in America, behind Phoenix, to eliminate “chronic homeless veterans” and reduced overall chronic homelessness by 72 percent in 10 years.
[7/31/15] The city is taking a new, more lenient approach to encourage homeless people to leave the streets and move into temporary and long-term housing projects that will open over the next several months.
None of the more than $20 million worth of projects -- in areas from Makiki to the Leeward Coast -- will be ready when the city starts clearing the first of an estimated 300 homeless people out of an expanding Kakaako homeless encampment next month. Only one -- the 87-bed Hale Mauliola "modular container" project on Sand Island Access Road -- is scheduled to open this year, sometime in the fall.
But when they do open, most of the new shelters will take in pets, allow people to stay indoors during the day, give them a place to secure their belongings and offer security and on-site social services, said Sandy Pfund, head of the city's new Office of Strategic Development.
[7/27/15] Gov. David Ige announced the formation of the “Governor’s Leadership Team on Homelessness” to find both short- and long-term answers, but the state’s current homeless czar won’t be part of that effort.
Colin Kippen, the state coordinator on homelessness and the chairman of the Hawaii Interagency Council on Homelessness, said he will be out of a job as of Friday.
Kippen’s email announcement Monday came just before Ige’s afternoon news conference announcing the formation of his team on homelessness.
Ige was joined by Mayor Kirk Caldwell, state Sen. Jill Tokuda, Rep. Sylvia Luke and representatives from the offices of U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz.
The team will include Ige and Caldwell, Tokuda, Luke, Director of Human Services Rachael Wong, Council Chairman Ernie Martin, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz’s designee and U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono’s designee. It will consult with law enforcement leaders, nonprofit organizations and other interested parties to assist with implementing short-term objectives.
“The underlying issues that lead to homelessness, such as lack of affordable housing, cannot be resolved quickly,” Ige said. “Meanwhile, we cannot wait for a comprehensive, long-term solution. There are measures we can take and will take, immediately.”
Ige’s office said the team will identify and assign parcels of land to be used for the creation of temporary shelters in one or two communities; implement measures to transfer residents of homeless encampments to shelters; work with service providers to establish protocols to assess shelter residents for financial, physical, mental health and other needs; and determine costs and obtain funding to meet these objectives.
The governor said the team will meet weekly, and work on solutions involving federal, state and city cooperation.
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The Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now are joining forces to report on the ever-worsening homelessness crisis.
While both news organizations will continue to report daily stories on homelessness, we will work together on bigger projects that delve into all aspects of the issue. To reach the widest possible audience for these important projects on this crisis, you will see reports in print, online and on broadcasts.
For example, on this page of the Star-Advertiser and in Hawaii News Now broadcasts on Monday, you will find stories on homeless encampments you might not be aware of and learn details about some of them.
Through stories such as these, we hope to raise awareness among the public — and public officials — about the gravity of the situation and the need to take action to help the homeless and, by doing so, help our community.
Both newsrooms hope you, as readers and viewers, will help with this project by offering comments, observations and suggestions online and in letters to the editor. While a collaboration between two competing newsrooms is unusual, Hawaii’s homelessness crisis requires an unusual approach.
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