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Last night was the “Safety in Waikīkī” Town Hall virtual event. Waikīkī legislators, City departments, and community partners came together for a lively discussion to address two most pressing issues of the district: public safety and homelessness.
These crises existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the outbreak has exacerbated socio-economic hardships, causing an increase in crime and the numbers who have become homeless. To combat this pressing issue, the legislature appropriated $15,000,000 in funds to renew the Ohana Zones program, $300,000,000 for rental housing relief (to build more rental housing), and $1.9 million grant-in-aid to the Institute for Human Services (IHS) to provide triage services—and a place for police and outreach workers to drop people off to get mental health, substance abuse and medical services. One of the big programs that an “end homeless group” focused on is the need for inmate re-entry support to remove or reduce barriers to successful integration so that motivated individuals who have served their time and paid their debt to society are able to get a job, stable housing, support their children and their families, and contribute to our communities.
I deeply appreciate the community, legislators, officials and partners for coming together to collaborate on how we can increase our public safety and end homelessness once and for all.
If you didn’t get a chance to participate, you can view the full video on Honolulu City Council’s Facebook.
Caring for each other,
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