HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0348.003 2020-2022 Comm.
16-105'Opukaha'ia St.
NEWHB0,111400D PLACE OF PUNA Kea'au, HI 96749
$ To Nuture,Strengthen,and Celebrate Ohana
www.neighborhoodplace.org COUNTY CLERK ph:(808)965-5550
g g fx: (808)965-5109
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COUNTY OF HAWAII
RECEIVED
Time .Nl
8/17/2021 Date AUG18 2021
Aloha Hawai'i County Council Members
Please pass resolution 179-21 without amendments for the Honua'ula Affordable Housing Project in Kailua Kona.
Honua'ula will provide 112 affordable units at 60%or below Area Median Income.There has been no project of this
kind on Big Island with such high ratios for affordability.The project is also slated to remain affordable longer than
past projects, and will be the first of its kind with 4-bedroom units suitable for larger families. Supporting this
project will create a ripple effect housing families in need and showing our community more affordable housing
innovation is possible.
According to the 2019 Hawaii Housing Plan Study(pp 36-40), Hawaii County will need an additional 13,303 housing
units by 2025 to meet local housing demand.We are nowhere near this goal as of now and need to do all we can to
support projects like Honua'ula and address our local housing needs.
On Big Island,30°l of homeless individuals are children in families(source: HMIS by-name data).This high rate of
child and family homelessness is especially unacceptable.This data reveals how poverty and instability
disproportionately hurts working class families on Big Island. By supporting Honua'ula and developments like it we
are helping to get these families off the street and are helping to disrupt generational poverty and instability. No
child should ever be left homeless,and early intervention can help stop generational cycles of homelessness.
In Hawaii we often think about all children as our own. In 'Olelo Hawai'i there is no word exactly for parent.The
word makua refers both to parents as well as aunties and uncles and other adult caretakers, because at one point
in time all children were looked after by many makua. In considering the extremely high rates of child
homelessness in Hawaii,we urge council leaders to think on this mindset, where child well-being was the kuleano
of many adults surrounding children. Let's take inspiration from this idea of shared kuleona for child well-being in
Hawai'i, and work to effectively end the high rates of child and family homelessness.
As a family service agency on the Big Island,we embrace the kuleana to help end child and family homelessness,
and hope that our island leadership will do the same by supporting affordable housing projects like Honua'ula.
Please pass Resolution 172-21 without amendments and support affordable housing for families.
Kaikea Kaleikini Blakemore
Neighborhood Place of Puna-Community Development Specialist
Vibrant Hawaii Housing Coalition-Co-Chair
Community Alliance Partners-Awareness Chair
Co ' No'N '
Re f. To: P1 V(J
Ref. Date AUG 1 8 2021