Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi has appointed Sam Moku as the new city homeless coordinator after Trish La Chia vacated the position last year to serve the state House of Representatives.
Moku recently served as the mayor's chief of staff. Previously, he was the senior administrator for Hawai'i Pacific University before switching back to government. He also served as the city Department of Community Services director under former Mayor Peter Carlisle.
"His ability to connect with everyone in town is unparalleled, and I am confident that his warmth and genuine compassion will be invaluable in fostering collaborative efforts with the state and non-profit organizations," Blangiardi said in a Tuesday news release.
"This strategic move is a testament to Sam's exceptional qualities, and I believe he will bring about positive change as we work together to address homelessness in our community," he continued.
Moku will be tasked with producing concrete initiatives to address homelessness while collaborating with the mayor's administration, service providers, the state homeless coordinator and other stakeholders.
O'ahu has long grappled with addressing people experiencing homelessness. According to last year's Point in Time count, homelessness increased by 2%.
Moku said he's working on his priorities, but it's important to identify the types of homelessness on Hawaiʻi's most populous island. He noted that having a solid database would be helpful.
"We really need to get a diagnostic on how our homeless are doing wherever they're living," Moku told HPR. "It might not be in a shelter, but we need to do a better job. But by identifying where they are, what they're doing, and what their situation is, I think that will be a very big step in having such a database for the state and the city."
