Bill Text: HI HR89 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Urging The City And County Of Honolulu To Work With State In Developing Strategies To Provide Assistance To The Homeless And Reduce The Number Of Homeless Individuals In Waipahu.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-04-04 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HR89 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-HR89-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

89

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU TO WORK WITH STATE IN DEVELOPING STRATEGIES TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO THE HOMELESS AND REDUCE THE NUMBER OF HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS IN WAIPAHU.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, homelessness, which causes major public health and societal issues, continues to be one of the most significant and persistent problems in the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2018, according to the Hawaii Statewide Point in Time Count:

 

     (1)  There were over six-thousand five-hundred homeless individuals in the State;

 

     (2)  There were over four-thousand homeless individuals on the island of Oahu in 2018; and

 

     (3)  Nearly half of the homeless individuals on Oahu in 2018 were unsheltered; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Statewide Point in Time Count also estimated that in 2018, the Ewa region of Oahu, which includes Waipahu, experienced an 8.2 percent increase in the number of unsheltered homeless individuals compared to the previous year, while the overall unsheltered homeless population on Oahu decreased by 7.7 percent over the same period; and

 

     WHEREAS, nearly thirty percent of the homeless population in the Ewa region are in Waipahu; and

 

     WHEREAS, Waipahu residents have raised concerns about numerous growing homeless encampments, which include areas around Honowai Circle, Hawaii Plantation Village, Waikele Stream, and various other areas in the neighborhood; and

     WHEREAS, at least one reported encampment was located beneath the Honowai Street Bridge near the H-1 Freeway and included children; and

 

     WHEREAS, over a six-month period, the staff at Hawaii's Plantation Village, an outdoor museum showcasing numerous restored buildings and replicas of plantation-style structures, filed over fifty complaints about homeless individuals trespassing on the property and its surrounding areas; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2017, numerous agencies offered services at Hawaii's Plantation Village to assist homeless individuals in the surrounding area; and

 

     WHEREAS, approximately forty homeless individuals are believed to live in the area on or near Hawaii's Plantation Village; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the City and County of Honolulu is urged to work with State in developing strategies to provide assistance to the homeless and reduce the number of homeless individuals in Waipahu; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor, the Chair of the County Council, and the Director of the Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu; the Director of Human Services; and the Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Waipahu; Homeless; City and County of Honolulu; State of Hawaii

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