Officials overseeing Hawaiʻi's homeless services say they need a boost in funding just to keep up with the rising cost of services.
The state Department of Human Services' Homeless Programs Office (HPO) contracts outside providers for services such as rapid rehousing, outreach and civil legal services.
The department said that operational costs have risen over the last decade, but the state’s operating budget for homeless services hasn’t kept up.
“We know that for the providers, it's very difficult to do the same level of work when the level of funding going to you does not increase over time,” said Scott Morishige, the administrator for the DHS Benefits, Employment and Support Services Division.
Morishige spoke to state lawmakers during a House Committee on Health and Homelessness informational briefing this week. The committee has held a series of briefings to better understand the state’s progress in addressing homelessness in Hawaiʻi.
The governor’s budget request for the upcoming legislative session includes an additional $1.3 million to be set aside for HPO contracts, for both fiscal years 2024 and 2025 — but the department wanted that number to be around $5.3 million.
Funding allotted for those contracts has fluctuated between $20 million to about $35 million over the last decade.
DHS said that the costs for homeless services, including wages and transportation, has grown by more than 30% since 2016.
According to annual Point in Time Counts, which provide snapshots of the state’s homeless population, amounts peaked in 2017 at around 5,000 individuals and has slowly dropped to around 4,000 individuals.
Morishige supported expanding homeless services but said it’s important to keep the current services funded.
“While the ultimate goal is placing people into housing, we also want to provide the support to help people navigate to that placement in housing, and the range of services we provide … really provide that, starting with outreach,” he said.
“That's how we meet people where they're at in the community, help them navigate them to the system, then take them into shelter if that's an option for them.”
