Newspaper calls for coordinating help for homeless
The Honolulu Star Bulletin published a three-day series of articles about homelessness in Hawaii during February, following up with an editorial appeal on Feb. 18 for more coordination between private and government programs working to deal with the problem and the needs of the homeless:
“Our three-day special series ‘Homeless in Plain Sight’ made clear that commendable efforts are being made at every level of government and by the private sector to combat homelessness. Less clear was the degree to which those levels coordinate their efforts to put roofs over the heads of as many as possible and look after the well-being of those who remain homeless. A seamless system is necessary.
“The state has opened six shelters on Oahu in the past five years and, on any given day, up to 2,500 of the homeless find temporary shelter under those or other roofs. Nearly 1,200 a day sleep under the sky. One-third of the island's unsheltered homeless are classified as ‘chronically homeless,’ disabled by such conditions as substance abuse or mental illness.
“The growth of Hawaii’s homeless is exacerbated by an influx of newcomers who have come here though a federal compact with Micronesia and the Marshall Islands allowing their citizens to move to the United States. The number of those islanders in Hawaii rose from 4,600 to 12,215 in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and they accounted for nearly one-fourth of the inhabitants of Honolulu's homeless shelters last year. The financial burden of the compact also is evidenced in related services: Hawaii spends more than $120 million annually on medical insurance, education and other benefits for compact recipients, but receives just $11 million in federal reimbursement. It is high time that the U.S. government, or the homelands of these citizens, be pressed to hold up the financial end of what has devolved into an unfunded federal mandate.”
Click these links to find the following stories from the series:
