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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN HSSSC 2021/12/07 2020-2022 Committee on Human Services and Social Services 12th Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii December 7, 2021 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Human Services and Social Services ORDER: was called to order 2:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Chair Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards HI, Member (came in later)) Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member Absent& Excused: Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: (There were none.) CHR. LEE LOY: With that, I'll be closing public testimony, and getting right into our agenda. Mr. Clerk, Communication 475, please. COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 475: REQUESTS THE FORMATION OF AN AD HOC COMMITTEE TO DEVELOP A REVISED PROCEDURE FOR THE COUNTY'S NONPROFIT GRANT-IN-AID PROGRAM From Council Member Susan L. K. Lee Loy, dated November 2, 2021, requesting formation of an ad hoc pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes 92-2.5(b) for the purpose of developing and providing a revised procedure for applying for grants and for the processing of received applications, prior to the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 grant program period. Postponed: November 16, 2021 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 (Note: There is a motion by Ms. Kierkiewicz, seconded by Ms. Kimball, to close file on Comm. 475.) (Note: Comm. 475.1, from Council Member Ashley L. Kierkiewicz dated December 6, 2021, transmitting an amended scope of work for the proposed ad hoc committee.) CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. With that, I guess we can go ahead and get right into discussion, kind of leaving picking up where we left off. Really, this communication was advanced to kind of continue the work of our permitted interaction group, and a lot of the changes that we had discovered to help advance this program and making it—rebranding the program, along with kind of receiving the various applications and some data collection. And I do know Ms. Kierkiewicz has a communication refining that particular ad hoc committee and the scope, as to what that—and if you don't mind, Ms. Kierkiewicz, moving in Communication 475.1? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Motion to Close File: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to close file on Comm. 475.1 and accept the amended scope of the ad hoc Committee. Seconded by Ms. Kimball. CHR. LEE LOY: Ms. Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. After our convening at committee, where we kind of presented our recommendations as that particular ad hoc, really honed in on what my colleagues were saying, and also chatted with the Finance Director to get really clear on scope of work that this body would be undertaking. So just reading through for my colleagues here, we've launched the nonprofit grant-in-aid program. Applications are open. Per our Code, these need to be done and open to the public by November 30''. So, everything is posted on the Finance Department's webpage for this particular grant program. And because we are piloting, again using the word"pilot,"we're piloting moving this application process forward with an online submission portal, Google Forms. It's a pilot. We're going to see if it works. We're going to see what our applicants think of it, but we are also going to hold space and allow them to submit a hardcopy, if that is their preference. So we certainly want to make sure that we're helping everybody move through the times and embracing leveraging technology where it makes sense, but also, if folks just feel really intense upon providing a hardcopy, there is the ability to do that. So,providing time for applicants to kind of come forward and walk through Page 2 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 every single question in the application. Again, building on the existing application we have, but just adding a few more questions as it relates to gathering data, so we can make equitable decisions and see what other gaps might need to be filled. So having a virtual presentation online about this program next week Monday, December 13'', providing support to the Finance Department as it relates to navigating Google Forms and the Google suite. And then also, working to digitize some of the required reports. There are templates that Finance would appreciate some assistance with getting onto Google Forms, that way our nonprofit awardees are able to submit that information through that online portal. And then we also talked about ways in which we can institutionalize some of the activities that are done on the Council side to administer this program. It's gone from Council Chair Maile David's office over to Sue Lee Loy's office, and we just want to make sure that as we transition this really important and special kuleana to next Council Members, that there is a clear list of responsibilities, sort of expectations that folks know walking into this position that they're expected to implement. So, this is our proposed scope of work for the next few months. I think there is a general interest by myself to continue to serve in this capacity and provide support in this role, but surely do welcome other folks that are interested in serving here, as well. Thank you, Chair. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. And for this more refined scope of services, I would also like to add under the second bullet, "Providing support to efforts to pilot online submissions," one thing that Ms. Kierkiewicz has discovered through this online portal is the need for various applicants to provide certain documentation: their 501(c)(3) letter, their organization. Oftentimes we are doing Contingency Funds, and those are the same documents that we need to advance our Contingency Funds. And this idea of this online portal now will allow so many of the nonprofits that we give contingency monies to, to house all of those documents in one place, in a folder that's readily available to not only us but Finance Department in hopes to also streamline that process rather than waiting for those applicants to produce those documents. And so that particular bullet item is of big interest for me, and how we actually are using a multi-prong approach. And as Lisa(Tada) over in our Finance Department mentioned, collection of our nonprofit grant-in-aid applications filled seven banker-boxes for her, and if we're talking about efficiency,putting a lot of this information into a digital platform would go a long way for her,just in the amount and volume of paper in storage. So with that, any other Council Members? Ms. David. Page 3 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MS. DAVID: Ms. David. MS. DAVID: Yes, thank you. Thank you, Chair. I wanted to say thank you to both of you for reaching out to Finance and for fine tuning the bullet points on what your specific role would be on this ad hoc. I appreciate it. I think it's very clear right now. And being a pilot program, I support this, and I will be supporting your efforts, okay. Thank you. CHR. LEE LOY: Any other Council Members? Ms. Kimball, go ahead. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, as you highlighted bullet point two, I'm going to highlight bullet point three. I know that as we discussed the last round of grant-in-aid there were questions, about distribution and were we hitting targets. And you can evaluate and you can make progress on what you measure, and if you're not measuring at all, then you don't know where you stand. But one of the things that I'm particularly excited about with regard to the work that this ad hoc committee is intended to do is providing a more comprehensive reporting system, so that both us as a body as well as the public have a better understanding about how those funds are distributed and how they're leveraged. Thank you, Chair. I yield. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. Going back to Ms. Kierkiewicz. Go ahead. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. And just want to mahalo and recognize Judge Strance, Corporation Counsel, for staying in touch with us the entire, you know, process of connecting with Finance on this particular scope of work for the ad hoc. Shout out to Finance Director Sako and Lisa Tada for working so closely with us to get everything online. There is a lot of excitement, like little bit nervous because they're not quite sure yet, but a lot of general excitement about how we're kind of moving this into a more digital format. So, I just want to impress upon and mahalo the open-mindedness and the collaboration between Finance Department and the Council on this really critical program for our County. And I want to stress that everything that we are doing is within the parameters of existing Code language. We're not changing in policies. We are not changing any laws. We are doing everything in the confines of current law; and if anything, we're ensuring that the law is being carried forward. So bullet number three, where we talk about required reports, it's in the Code right now. Failure to submit your report, means you as a nonprofit cannot access funding until that report is filed. You're not in good standing with the County. Page 4 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 And so it's making sure that these expectations are clear, but that we also have the processes and structure in place to ensure that we can carry out the law. So I just want to emphasize that we're cleaning up, I think, internal systems and processes a little bit, so that we can ensure that our awesome nonprofit grant partners are able to deliver but also share that really important with us, so we can showcase to community the positive impact that they're having around the island. Thank you, Chair. And if there's any indication, I want to continue serving in this committee. Thank you. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. I think she caught the hint. Something that springboarding off what Ms. Kimball talked about, measuring and being able to actually articulate what successes are coming forth. To the point, not really measuring it very well before. This is actually a waya stake was set in the sand, and now we can measure from that stake. And so that was the—and we knew the first year was going be little bit stutter-step, yeah, as we sorted through the deal. But again, using technology as an accelerant. Doesn't create it, but we can use to start accelerating the process. So, I just wanted to touch on that. It's actually the stake has been set, now we can measure from that stake, and that's important. Thanks, Chair. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Ms. Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, and I'll make one final comment, too. I also would love to continue serving in this capacity. I've learned a lot, and I think I can contribute a lot in terms of the metrics and gathering data. But certainly, you know, when we discussed this last time others expressed interest. Whatever folks want to do, but I would like to continue serving, as well. Members of the CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. So with that, of course I would like Ad Hoc to kind of enlist, members of the Council to sit on this permitted interaction Committee: group, with the understanding that the proposed scope of services is outlined in Communication 475.1. I'd like to ask Council Member Kierkiewicz; Council Member Kimball; and Mr. Richards, if you want to continue working with us, that would be wonderful. I also did to want to thank Ms. Strance and the Finance Department for kind of riding this with us. We pushed really hard at, you know, maybe 24 hours out before having to go live, and everybody just jumped in and rolled up their sleeves. So thank you, Judge Strance, for your guidance, and to the Finance Department Page 5 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 for putting up with us. So with that, Mr. Clerk, I've identified four members of the Council, and so I would need to postpone or—tell me again? MR. BROWN: Based on your Council Rules, one way that you guys have approached this in the past, you would postpone this communication again while the ad hoc committee does their work, and then at either to a specific time or to the call of the Chair; and that at that time, when the ad hoc is ready to present their findings, they would present their—will submit their findings; you would bring the communication back. At that time, the findings would be submitted, but then you guys would not act upon those findings. It would be postponed again until a third meeting, where you guys would then vote on the findings of the ad hoc committee. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you for that guidance, Mr. Clerk. I'll look for guidance from my colleagues. But I'm looking to postponing this meeting to sometime in February or March. Actually, the application deadlines are January 31", and so some level of report I think would be sensible to this body, sometime in mid-February or early March. Hang on while I check our calendars, Mr. Clerk. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair? CHR. LEE LOY: Go ahead, Ms. Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Taking a look at Council calendar and recognizing that this application process closes January 31", and they're needing time for the committee to review the results, capture reflections from applicants, and compile a report and meet internal deadlines. I'd like to motion to postpone Communication 475.1 to the March P committee. Motion to Postpone: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to postpone Comm. 475.1 to March 8, 2021. Seconded by Ms. David. MS. STRANCE: Madam Chair? (Note: At this time, Corporation Counsel Elizabeth Strance came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. LEE LOY: Go ahead, Ms. Strance. MS. STRANCE: Looking at your timeline, I just want to make sure that you folks are giving yourselves enough time to hold your supplement third meeting before there would be any evaluation of the grant applications, since one of the purposes is to come up with, you know, duties and responsibilities of the Council in reviewing those applications. I know with this particular resolution and Page 6 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 winding up the last ad hoc committee, they didn't give you folks very much time to do work after the conclusion and the closure of the committee. So depending on when we are expecting to evaluate applications,please factor that into your timeline. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Judge Strance, for that guidance. And just talking aloud to the rest of my colleagues, with the proposed date of March 8d', back-mapping a little bit, we would have to have that report ready at the end of February. We would hear it on the 8h, but be able to discuss it on the 22nd, and then formulate our decision on that. But looking ahead, we have our Special Finance Committee meetings with the rest of our entire budget in April, and so I think we have enough wiggle. But, those are my thoughts. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, if I might? And thank you, Judge Strance, for that really helpful feedback and ensuring that we're doing things in a timely manner, considering after this there would be the activation of the ad hoc to review all of the applications that have been put forward. And if memory serves me, the meeting that we're having right now to establish the ad hoc counts as the first of three meetings that need to take place on this; so the second would be to file the report; and the third, on the 22nd, would be to discuss the findings and recommendations. Please help me here, Council Chair, Committee Chair, can you remind this body when we are supposed to be activating the ad hoc to review nonprofit applications? Because whenever that is, the body of this ad hoc should have concluded already. So I'm happy to make adjustments to this motion that I put forward, on when to postpone. I want to make sure that we are because I don't think we can have two ad hocs discussing the same thing running concurrently. So I want to make sure this wraps up before that process formerly begins. Does anyone recall? CHR. LEE LOY: I have staff checking, back-mapping those dates right now. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. MS. KIMBALL: Chair? CHR. LEE LOY: Ms. Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: A point of clarification on that last point. While we cannot have two ad hocs running concurrently, we couldI wonder if we could be in the process of activating the second one while we're completing the first one; if they can overlap in that way. Although, they don't overlap, well, in action. Page 7 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Correct. And that's what we attempted to do here. So at the closure of the last ad hoc, we had put forward a communication to create a new one, and so that communication would come forward the day, the meeting, in which we are discussing the findings here. So I think as soon as we kind of figure out when that particular ad hoc needs to be mobilized, we can move forward. You know, Chair, in the essence of time, I'm happy to just make a motion to postpone to the call of the Chair, because I know that we have folks here patiently waiting to provide a presentation. Would it be possible for me to withdraw the initial? I'll withdraw the first motion, and make a new motion to postpone Communication 475.1 to the call of the Chair. Withdraw Motion: Ms. Kierkiewicz withdrew her motion to postpone Comm. 475.1 to March 8, 2022. CHR. LEE LOY: Mr. Clerk, we a have motion to withdraw. Motion to Postpone: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to postpone Comm. 475.1 to the call of the Chair. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. CHR. LEE LOY: Any discussion on that? MS. STRANCE: Madam Chair? Elizabeth Strance. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Judge Strance. With that, I have a motion to postpone Communication 475.1 to the call of the Chair. All those in favor,please signify by saying "aye." Vote on Motion The motion to postpone Comm. 475.1 to the call of the to Postpone: Chair was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Committee Members David, Chung, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Lee Loy —8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. MR. BROWN: I'm sorry, Madam Chair,just to clarify, the communication was the main motion of Communication 475, correct? CHR. LEE LOY: That's correct. Thank you for clarifying that. Yes, I'll restate that. Page 8 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, sorry, I need to get clarification here. CHR. LEE LOY: Yeah. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So the matter we're discussing is 475.1, and the motion is to postpone 475.1 to the call of the Chair; 475 is still on the table, and we need to close file on that. That's my recollection. MR. BROWN: Okay, you know what? That is probably the proper process, and I must have misunderstood. And in fact, we had approved 475.1. So yes,just to clarify, there is a motion on the floor right now by Ms. Kierkiewicz to postpone to the call of the Chair 475.1. However, because the way I'm reading 475.1, it's sort of clarifying the scope of what it would be. I think it would be in the Council's best interest to—should you guys agree with that scope of work, close file on that to sort of accept 475.1. And then on the main motion 475, yes, then you guys would postpone the main motion, sort of signifying that the Chair has, you know, with the Council's approval, has approved and identified the scope and the members of what this ad hoc committee would make up as. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. MR. BROWN: Does that make sense? CHR. LEE LOY: Perfect. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Judge Strance, I want to make sure that we are activating the ad hoc correctly. Could you provide a little guidance with us on the proper motion we should be making here? MS. STRANCE: I believe that the Council needs to create and vote to create the committee with its scope, and then you have the second and third meeting later. But you need some sort of authority to initiate and authorize the action for the committee to meet. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So scratch all the motions I made. MR. BROWN: If you could just withdraw that last— Withdraw astWithdraw Motion: MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Withdrawing the motion to postpone to the call of the Chair. MR. BROWN: Which would bring us back to Communication 475.1, which is identifying the scope that you had laid out. Page 9 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Correct. MR. BROWN: And then you guys could make a motion. I think the motion was to accept and close file on Communication 475.1. You guys can vote on that, and then we'll get back to the main motion of the ad hoc, yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Chair? CHR. LEE LOY: Go ahead, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Scope and MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Motion to convene an ad hoc committee for the purposes Membership noted in Communication 475.1 noting that members of the committee are your Ad Hoc Honorable Chair; myself, Ashley Kierkiewicz; Council Members Kimball and Committee: Richards, to be members of this particular committee. That's the motion. All in favor of the motion,please signify by saying "aye." Vote on Comm. 475.1: The motion to close file on Comm. 475.1 and accept (Approved) the amended scope of the ad hoc committee was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Chung, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Lee Loy —8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. MR. BROWN: Okay, that brings us back to the main motion, Communication 475. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. MR. BROWN: So you guys are on the main motion now in discussion. CHR. LEE LOY: So the main motion, as we've convened with the scope of services, I will now entertain a motion postpone to the call of the Chair. Page 10 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 Vote on Motion Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to postpone Comm. 475 to the to Postpone: call of the Chair. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried (Approved) by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Lee Loy —8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. CHR. LEE LOY: With that, Mr. Clerk, moving on to Communication 533, please. Comm. 533: REQUESTS AN UPDATE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION REGARDING THE COUNTY'S EFFORTS TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS From Council Member Aaron S. Y. Chung, dated November 23, 2021. Motion to Close File: Mr. Chung moved to close file on Comm. 533. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. (Note: At this time, Sharon Hirota, Housing and Community Development Specialist; Brandee Menino, Chief Executive Officer, Hope Services Hawaii; Paul Normann, Executive Director, Neighborhood Place of Puna; Kristen Alice, Director of Community Relations, Hope Services Hawaii; Les Estrella, Executive Director, Going Home Hawaii; and Tilisa Nau, Community Advocate; came forward to provide a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee. For viewing of the subject presentation, please see the DVD copy of the meeting proceedings on file in the Clerk's Office, or in the video archives online from the County's homepage at www.hawaiicounty.gov. A hard copy of the presentation is made a part of the record, see Comm. 533.2.) CHR. LEE LOY: Mr. Chung. MR. CHUNG: Yes, thank you, Madam Chairman. You know, first of all, let me just read what my request was in asking for this presentation. "It is my hope that the presentation shall include, among other things, an assessment of our island's present homelessness situation (i.e., current number of homeless individuals existing inventory of homeless facilities), our short-term and long-term goals with respect to the homelessness issue, strategies at achieving those goals, present and anticipated costs associated with providing suitable housing for our homes population, enforcement, and any obstacles," (see Comm. 533). And listening to the previous discussion, also measures how do we measure the success of our efforts at addressing homelessness. Page 11 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 You know, before going any further though, I wanted to really thank Chair Maile David for allowing me to put this on today. It came in kind of at a backend, and she said, "Hey, we're kind of full, you know," and so I said again, "Just put it on whenever you can, if it has to be in January." Because this is our last committee meeting for the year, well, you know, last one for this particular committee. But she found a place for it, and I really do appreciate that. And the reason for it is, you know, we're in the throughs of the holiday season, and where everybody is—most people are happy, right? You know, it's really a good time of the year, but it really gives us pause to think about this whole homelessness issue. And I don't even have to explain why, I think it's very evident, you know, why it's so important for us to take this up, you know, at any time of the year, but especially now, you know. Sharon, I really wanted to thank you for organizing this thing. I mean, I see in the audience, you know, it's basically a who's who of people with the knowledge of the homelessness issue, you know, this Community Alliance Partners. I see Hope Services, Neighborhood Place of Puna, Going Home Consortium, police officers, and others, and I really do thank you guys for coming. You guys are the resources that we need. We just want a straight-talk on this thing, okay. I know you have a PowerPoint presentation, but we've got to really get things going on this thing. Because about four or five years ago we were assured by the Administration. And I'm not putting down anybody, because this is a problem that is very difficult to address. You know, I mean it's the scourge of the nation, really. It's not just herein Hawaii. But we were told that, I think it was in 2016, that we would get a plan in September of 2017. Well, September of 2017 came, we never got a plan. And I also heard, I remember that we were going to end homelessness by 2018 or something, yeah, right? I think you guys recall that too. And we kind of knew that was not going happen, right? But we don't want empty promises. We just want to know what's going on,what our efforts are, and how much resources we have to devote to this to make substantial impacts. And so, Sharon, thank you for organizing this. Take it away. And I'm assuming you're speaking on behalf of the Administration and the Mayor, right? Okay, thank you. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Sharon, for being here. And for my colleagues, Ms. Hirota provided a slide-deck to us. It's contained in Communication 533.2. MS. HIROTA: So good afternoon. Thank you for having myself and my colleagues here to share information about the addressing the needs of our most vulnerable community members on our island. Page 12 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 My name is Sharon Hirota. I work for the Office of Housing and Community Development, under the leadership of Susan Kunz, our Housing Administrator. We're here in partnership, also with the Mayor's Office, and you can see behind me, our community-based leaders, as we work together to develop strategies and coordinate the delivery of services to address the needs of our community members who are at risk or currently experiencing homelessness on Hawaii Island. MR. CHUNG: I just want to make one more comment, if I may. You know, this morning we had a presentation from Mass Transit. Outstanding performance. CHR. LEE LOY: The bar is high. MR. CHUNG: Okay, so the bar is real high. Oh,yeah. Take it away. MS. HIROTA: No pressure. Never. So again, we appreciate the opportunity to come forward and to share about our collaborative work, to quickly rehouse individuals, families, while minimizing the trauma and the dislocation cause to homeless individuals, families and communities by homelessness. We want to put access to mainstream programs and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families. To ensure an individual or family experiencing homelessness is rare, brief, and nonrecurring. It takes all of us, including teachers, physicians, business leaders, mental health experts, faith group leaders, employment experts, addiction specialists, realtors, and landlords. We invite you to join us, and everyone listening to this presentation, to be part of the solution. (Note: At this time, Ms. Hirota and the Community Alliance Partners provided a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee.) MS. HIROTA: Thank you, Tilisa and everyone, for sharing this afternoon. One more part of our presentation is Jane Clement from the Mayor's Office CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Sharon. Jane, I'm understanding, is in our Kona office, and she also has a slide-deck for us about Change of Heart, a pilot program that they started in Kona. MS. HIROTA: Yes. (Note: At this time, Jane Clement, Executive Assistant to the Mayor, came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. LEE LOY: There she is. Hi, Jane. Good afternoon. Page 13 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MS. CLEMENT: Hello. Good afternoon, everybody. Council Chair David, Committee Chair Lee Loy, members of this committee, mahalo for this opportunity to present Change of Heart today. But first of all, I really want to mahalo our great team at the Office of Housing and Community Development led by Director Susan Kunz and all of the members of CAP (Community Alliance Partners), for the incredible work that they do every day. So mahalo to all of you for your hard work. CHR. LEE LOY: So for the rest of my colleagues, I think in our packet Communication 533.1 is Jane's presentation on Change of Heart. I'm going to put us in recess, and we can get your PowerPoint up and running. MS. CLEMENT: Thank you. CHR. LEE LOY: This meeting is in recess. Recess: At 3:40 p.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 3:43 p.m. (Note: At this time, Ms. Clement provided a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee. For viewing of the subject presentation, please see the DVD copy of the meeting proceedings on file in the Clerk's Office, or in the video archives online from the County's homepage at www.hawaiicounty.gov. A hard copy of the presentation is made a part of the record, see Comm. 533.1.) MS. CLEMENT: So thank you again for allowing me to present Change of Heart. I'd be happy to answer any of your questions. Mahalo. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you so much, Jane. Good to see you. With that, I'm going to turn it back over to Mr. Chung for all the questions. MR. CHUNG: Well, some questions. Well, why don't I call up our two members of the Police Force first so that they can go back to work. Are you guys here only to listen or are you guys able to answer some questions? Alright. You know, the reason why this presentation was requested is obviously we want to find ways of helping your group as well as helping the County get through this homelessness problem. From my perspective, and this is only my perspective, I cannot say I agree completely with whatever you guys have presented as being truisms, right? The assumptions and things like that might have been overplayed somewhat, and that's only my personal feeling. Page 14 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 Let me just ask, and I'm going to ask some questions that might not have any kind of method to the madness, but I'm just taking notes here. You know, I know the Homeless Coalition has stated on many occasions, has been steadfast I think in this regard, that we're not getting a substantial portion or amount of people from the mainland, okay, and then you guys have tried to dispel that notion. Okay, that's fine. And I'm not here to dispute that. But you guys provided a graphic. And the only reason why I'm bringing this up is I want to know the extent of our problem. We've got to—if we don't have a firm grasp of what our problem is, and if we're kind of just ignoring some facets of it, it's going to be hard for us to really address things. But it says here, "60% have lived in Hawai`i,"you know, of the homeless population, "60% have lived in Hawaii 20+years," and "4% have lived in Hawaii under 1 year." So, what about the remaining 36%? (Note: At this time, Ms. Menino came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. MENINO: I mean, so we're sharing data that typically were asked of. So, there is data available in the intake form. The limitation of the data is it's self-recorded, right? So when they do an intake process, they'll ask the question how long they've been here. So, that's the limitation in the data. So at every enrollment, based on that data, that's the checkbox that the intake workers are doing. So the collectionoh, I don't have that data with me, but if you to btghawaii.org. (Bridging the Gap), there's data dashboards with all of that. Annual data, you can pick out specific races, the ages, categories. So, all of that is available. There's a long comprehensive report. But the majority we're trying to pick out what's the majority. So the majority is that they've been here 20 years or more. MR. CHUNG: Right. And I'm pretty sure that's a fact. MS. MENINO: Correct. MR. CHUNG: I just want to know what about the missing 36 percent. MS. MENINO: Yeah, so it's like five to ten years, ten to fifteen years. There's all those other ranges, but it's like ten percent here. But the ones were always asked about is those who were coming from the states. MR. CHUNG: Because I will tell you this, too you know, when I've participated in homelessness, either presentations or made speeches at the gazebo down at Mo`oheau Park, or done things, I have been approached, and I've even been approached while I've been walking around downtown from people who have said that they're from either Georgia or somewhere else. You know, Page 15 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 probably saying they love it here. And that's terrific that they love it here, but it leads me to believe that there are people coming from the mainland. Oh, and then they've said that were sent here, yeah. So just keep that in the back of your mind, okay? MS. MENINO: Um-hum. MR. CHUNG: It's happening. MS. MENINO: Yeah, four percent. MR. CHUNG: And I'm not making this thing up. I'm not making up a story, you know, that this guy came. MS. MENINO: So during COVID (Coronavirus Disease), when travel was on lockdown, right, so we have a relationship with Civil Defense. They were at the airports. So any time someone came and arrived here without— MR. ithoutMR. CHUNG: No, this before COVID, though. I don't know what— MS. hatMS. MENINO: Right. But you know how that was controlled though, right? So like MR. CHUNG: I try not to talk to people during COVID. MS. MENINO: This is last year's data during COVID, when it was controlled. So every time someone came, because people were trying to come in, but if they didn't have a plan, a quarantine plan, Talmadge (Civil Defense Administrator) didn't allow them to come. So we would actually use our unrestricted funds to send them back to wherever they came from. Because we are not allowed to bring them into our shelters, either and risk the rest getting infected, as well. MR. CHUNG: So these guys that you guys sent back, were they being sent here? MS. MENINO: No. MR. CHUNG: Oh, okay. MS. MENINO: Right, so you have they have funds, if they are working or they have their social security, travel to Hawaii was even cheaper during COVID. MR. CHUNG: Okay. Because this is what I'm worried about, okay, even if this graphic or the statistics are correct, I think we really have to seriously consider proactive thinking on this too, you know, because Hawaii of all places, we have this consistent climate, right? You don't have to battle these inhospitable winters Page 16 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 and summers. You have this beautiful weather year-round. I think we're ripe for this being an attractive place where people can live on the streets and still survive. So that's the danger, okay? You know, maybe it is correct that it's just a small amount, but there is an amount. MS. MENINO: Yeah, there is an amount. This other parallel challenge is other people who don't live here buying housing. MR. CHUNG: Um-hum. Yeah. MS. MENINO: So it's compounded, right? MR. CHUNG: It's a complicated situation. We all know that. Okay, I just wanted to touch upon that, okay. Because I know next time you guys come back, you guys going still say, "It's not a big problem," and I'm going to say, "No, I disagree with that." I might be gone by that time. MS. MENINO: We'll bring the ranges of the five to ten years, ten to fifteen too, then. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, okay. All right, all right. Then, Sharon, we heard from and by the way, I just wanted to say, you know, to Brandee, and Les, and Paul, you know, I really thank you guys for all you guys do. You know, Brandee, you know, I mean, I've done it through Sharon, you know, "Hey, go call up Brandee, you know, get this situation." And then you always trouble-shot it. Les, I've bothered you, right, on some of the people I wanted to see going into your shelter? And then, Paul, I've never bothered you, but I've seen what you guys have done. I recently went to yourI guess you call it a shelter or housing at Paradise Park. Yeah, and really, really, topnotch, yeah. Oh, you know, with regard to those little homes, those little shelters that were at the Old Airport, what happened, though? What's up with that? I know you told me that we ran out of funding. But, explain. MS. HIROTA: Okay, so you're speaking about the 32 units that we called Hale Hanakahi, that was purchased with `Ohana Zone funds, And up through June 10, 2021, was funded by a combination of funding that came in from CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) as well as `Ohana Zone funding. At mid-June, the contract ended. Funds ended. The buildings still stand, but they're empty. But Parks (Department of Parks and Recreation) also has plans to work on renovating the pool and the parking lot to meet ADA (American with Disabilities Act)requirements, and so we need to have an exit plan. For now they continue to remain there, but empty. Page 17 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MR. CHUNG: Kind of poho though, actually, right? Don't you think? I mean, how much did it cost to run that program? MS. HIROTA: So it cost about$40,000 a month to run that shelter. MR. CHUNG: That's a lot of money, yeah? MS. HIROTA: Yep, 24/7 case management to connect individuals to permanent housing. Outreach to encourage people who are on the streets to enter into the housing, it takes many hands and many hours. MR. CHUNG: Is there any way that it could be done for less? Because that is a pretty damn expensive program. I mean, if it's got to be done, it's got to be done. But was it just because we have the I Act money, so we gave it, you know,put it at the gold-standard? Or can it be just a little less? MS. HIROTA: No, that's at bare-minimum staffing, 24/7. MR. CHUNG: How much are we spending for the Old Memorial Hospital? MS. HIROTA: Same amount, if not more. MR. CHUNG: $40,000. More than that? MS. HIROTA: Because the MR. CHUNG: Where's that coming from? MS. HIROTA: That's coming from `Ohana Zones, until that money is exhausted. And then, we have a plan. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, okay. All right. MS. HIROTA: So we have a plan. We're reaching out in partnership with HOPE, to our State Homeless Programs, to reallocate some of the Emergency Solutions grant money. And Brandee's here, so she—HOPE Services manages the project. But being very creative in allocating bedspace and looking for other funding sources to ensure that the operations continue. MR. CHUNG: Right. And I will say this, you know, to Brandee and her organization, they do a marvelous job, from my experience anyway, of getting families into homes, yeah. A lot of these guys are actually, you know, they're able-bodied people who just ran into some bit of hard-patches. So, I don't feel that as being a hugely problematic area. What I'm really, really concerned about, in terms of the impact on our general public because they're you know, the Page 18 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 public is being impacted by this thing, too. You know, we want to help, and everybody is really motivated by compassion towards their fellowmen; but at the same time, there are some issues that are coming up that are raising the hackles of just the general population as well, right? And what are we doing with the mentally ill? Because they're unable to really fully understand what's going on. It's very difficult for them, so we want to help them. But what kinds of things do we have for those with mental illness? MS. HIROTA: So I think what was shared earlier, based on my recollection, there's very limited number of beds, and most of the individuals who engage and connect to services are on a very long waiting-list for services outside of our island. But in the meantime, we have 24 beds. Big Island Substance Abuse, you all approved a multi-year lease for 34 Rainbow Drive. Dr. Hana(Pita) couldn't be here today; she had another scheduled meeting. But we're working in partnerships to look to secure funding to allow for an increased number of stabilization beds here on Hawaii Island. MR. CHUNG: Okay, then either you or Brandee, Les or Paul, or anybody else, maybe you guys can answer this, and it's just a real general question. You don't have to back it up with any statistics because we have all of this (see Comm. 533.2). But it's hard to digest, yeah? And I know we've had to go through COVID, which put a crimp in any efforts we've been trying to undertake. We've had the lava flow, as Brandee pointed out. How are we now in relation to where we were in 2018, when Mayor Kim's plan came out? And I'm sure there have been tweaks to that plan or maybe even major overhauls. But how are we, just off the top of your head, are we in better shape, worst shape, same? And by the way,just be straight with because, you know, basically this going come down to funding, so we've got to know. MS. HIROTA: So I think one of the charts shows you—where we look at our results, right, Because we measure ourselves against what we do. And the chart surely shows you that in 2021, although we served more people, there were less people that we moved to permanent housing, right? MR. CHUNG: Right. MS. HIROTA: And in exiting to permanent housing, our numbers dropped. So that's a reflection of what happened. MR. CHUNG: Get some good and bad. MS. HIROTA: Yeah. Page 19 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MR. CHUNG: Are we better or not, same or what? In your opinion, are we moving in a positive direction, or were we stopped cold in our tracks because of COVID? Or did we get better because of the COVID funding? I've got to know if we're getting better or not getting better. MS. HIROTA: I think we're not. MR. CHUNG: Oh, yeah? MS. HIROTA: Yeah. I think we're status quo. I mean, given all of the pandemic and helping those families, and ensuring that they stay housed. And even with all of the federal monies coming in, the work was behind keeping people housed. MR. CHUNG: Yeah. MS. HIROTA: Don't add to the numbers. We didn't do a point-and-time count in January of 2020. We will be out on the streets again come January 2021. So the only numbers we can tell you, when we compare period-in-time to period- in-time, goes back to 2019. And if you compare it to 2019 and where we are now, it's much different. The numbers on our binding list, I mean, at one point we were down to 25 families, and we were like, we're almost there. And what I reported today, we're up to 67. MR. CHUNG: So there was a period of time that we showed positive momentum then? MS. HIROTA: Yes. MR. CHUNG: Okay. MS. HIROTA: When there were more available affordable housing in the community. MR. CHUNG: So what happened to all of those houses? Loss of funding? MS. HIROTA: No,people came in. And for whatever reason, maybe it was a rental, family returning. You know, my daughter is returning. Pandemic. They lost their job; they're moving in. I'm sorry I've got to move you out. People buying units for themselves, and converting it from rental to owner-occupant. It's the gambit. MR. CHUNG: Okay. No, I appreciate the candor. I mean, really, because we've got to have a good grasp on this thing. And Paul mentioned something earlier, and I don't know if all of you subscribe to this, but he said, "We can end homelessness." Can we end homelessness on this island? Page 20 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MS. MENINO: So I think that's—we say that because that's our guiding post, right? We need to have a vision of where we want to be. So we're here and we exists because our mission is to end homelessness. It's not to stall homelessness, make it longer for somebody. What really—what we buy into is ending homelessness. MR. CHUNG: Okay. You know, I don't want to take up too much time. Because we've got a lot of information from you guys, and we can get more as time goes on. I found it very instructive. But have there been models throughout the United States of places that were plagued heavily by homelessness and turned it around completely? Do you guys know of any models in the United States? MS. MENINO: There's models in the United States and across the globe. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, but where? MS. MENINO: So they reinforce housing first. But it's in big scale, right? So we're incrementally doing those, the same models, but it's not as big a scale. MR. CHUNG: Like where? MS. MENINO: Like establishing their fund. MR. CHUNG: Like where? MS. MENINO: They've had in Texas. I don't know the exact city. But there is in Texas, in Colorado. And we can pull that out. MR. CHUNG: Yeah. Yeah. MS. MENINO: Yeah. MR. CHUNG: Let's see how, you know, what they did to get out. And they were in bad shape? MS. MENINO: Yeah. MR. CHUNG: And now they're in good shape? MS. MENINO: Yeah, and they've been in the same kinds of experiences we have, with the natural disasters, as well. MR. CHUNG: Okay. Okay, and if you guys can at least get us some information on that. And you have the guy, like Tim, who is with the National Association of Page 21 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 Counties (NACo). So we have the resources here,who can kind of interface with NACo. And try to get some information in that regard. But yeah, we can talk more about this thing. You know, I told Sharon, you know, I've got a plan. Maybe other guys have a plan, but I'll reveal it soon enough. All right. MS. HIROTA: So, if I can just close. Thank you very much for taking time this afternoon and allowing us to share. MR. CHUNG: Oh, we not pau yet. MS. HIROTA: I know. MR. CHUNG: These guys might have more questions. MS. HIROTA: Oh, okay. Sorry. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Chung. I'm going to go to Ms. Villegas. But some of the models I wanted to speak about. What Brandee is speaking about is capacity. So many people who have, and this is in Houston, Texas, their capacity was height. They would go up 30-stories, and that's how they really began to resolve some of their homelessness or the ability for housing, is because they could take acres,just three to five acres and go vertical. We don't do that here, and that's a challenge. With that, Ms. Villegas, go ahead. MS. VILLEGAS: Sure. And my apologies, I had to run to the restroom, as well. Did I miss any kind of update on the Kukuiola? MS. HIROTA: No, but I could give you one. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay, cool. That would be great. MS. HIROTA: So Kukuiola, we're still plowing ahead. You know, it's all of the predevelopment work. It's like when you think you've done everything, something else comes up. I think we're at the final stages. We're securing a contract to do some soil testing, which I think is the last piece to the grading. But we're putting all the pieces to the puzzle together, and we should be having an update shortly. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. Ironically, word on the street had been the County project is waiting for County permits, which I said, "I think it's a little more complex than just being in line for a permit." MS. HIROTA: No. Page 22 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MS. VILLEGAS: Yeah. Okay, great. I wanted to know also if there were any — I know that one of the conversations that was had in District 7 was about a potential land-swap, with the property where Bishop is currently at in the industrial area on Pawai Street. Are those conversations still active in any capacity? MS. HIROTA: I don't have information on that. I would have to defer to the Housing Administrator. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay, no worries. MS. HIROTA: I'll send her a note, yeah. MS. VILLEGAS: No worries. And then I was told a number of months ago that unfortunately, you know, with the closing of the old Kona Hospital facility, whichI'm sorry, the old Kona Courthouse, which did used to be a hospital, there was real hope there for a while that could get turned into some beds. And that still kind of got—something happened in Department of Health, some changing in staffing and then priorities changed. Is that what happened? MS. HIROTA: Change in Administration. MS. VILLEGAS: Change in Administration. MS. HIROTA: And so that's still a possibility. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. MS. HIROTA: But we're waiting for the new Administration to tell us MS. VILLEGAS: Get their foot in first? MS. HIROTA: Yes. ACTING CHR. KIMBALL: Okay great. I wondered—cause something, you know, I noteI mean, I get to represent District 7, which is a hub for homeless and houseless issues, and I note people sleeping in their car. You know when there's the same car there, and I think about when I'm driving by and then I go, "Well, that's actually a pretty safe space," and I know that that's State Highway, so nobody is going to bother them. You know, those kinds of things. And I know Kukuiola was set to be built up with kind of tiny homes as its structure, is there opportunity—and I think actually I got some emails not so long ago about how do we, or where do we, or can we create a parking lot space for Page 23 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 people that can safely—when we have a lot of people that drive over to work and then live in their cars. And to have somewhere safe you can park is priceless, right? Has there been any momentum in that? MS. HIROTA: So part of the master plan includes safe parking with access. Different access to bathrooms and restroom facilities. MS. VILLEGAS: But nothing in the interim? MS. HIROTA: That will be part of the first phase. MS. VILLEGAS: Of Kukuiola? MS. HIROTA: Of Kukuiola. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. One more question about Hope Services facilities on Pawai, and mind you, this is from the number of emails that I get from people with all different opinions about services and facilities and whatnot. But I wondered if there was any timeframe for the people that are living in that facility to need to improve or make strides in a certain direction. You don't want to just kick them back out on the street, but what are the parameters for accountability and kuleana to ensure that support continues to be given? And the waitlist doesn't get longer and longer if—unfortunately there are sometimes those that aren't going to improve under those circumstances, right, and they need more care or something more structured. MS. MENINO: So there are three programs on that one campus. One is the Day Center, where they can just drop in. They're connecting to outreach workers, utilizing the laundry and all that center. The back building on the left is the 31-units of emergency shelter. For about half a year now though, we've been operating at half the capacity, first because of COVID spread. But there were a couple of cases in the shelter, so we kept at half-capacity. Now, we're working with the County in facility upgrades; the repairing of the certified kitchen, and then hopefully the construction of the installation of fans and repairing of their solar. So, that's kept us at half-capacity. But typically, emergency shelters is triage, 90 days they get them connected to more permanent services outside in the community for mental health care, substance abuse care. But like we mentioned earlier, getting someone transferred to Therapeutic Living Program, like substance use, there's a couple of months wait to get in there, unless they go off-island; but even off-island is a couple months wait. MS. VILLEGAS: Yeah. Page 24 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MS. MENINO: The cost of housing in Kailua-Kona is even tough. Way huge tougher than it is in the East Hawaii side,just securing and looking for housing. So they sit in the shelter, sort of what I think to what you're saying, because there's no pipeline to affordable housing that's within their reach, right. So they're getting $700 something from SSI(Social Security Income). There are people with disabilities, whether it's mental health,physical or both, or multiple, it's getting into a more permanent place to be stabilized. So, that's the gap. That's what keeps them staying in our shelter longer than, you know, that they'd like to; that we'd like to, as well. The other program on the right side, when you first enter the gate, that's permanent supportive housing, the one that's Matson containers. There are about 22 of those rooms or units are rentals, so they'll stay there. They're the ones that burned landlord bridges all over community. You know, even when they take apart our electrical system, we move them to the shelter, you know, get them connected, get them restabilized, and then bring them back to the unit when we fix all the electric outlets that they've taken apart. They flood the unit. You know, it's the same thing, it's the mental illness, it's the disability. So, some of those changes is bridging the access to healthcare. But then they've got to get to a place where they'll accept help for healthcare. MS. VILLEGAS: Right. MS. MENINO: And for taking medication. So that period of time, and that's different for everybody. MS. VILLEGAS: My brother was schizophrenic and passed away while mitigating between care, and had drug issues and whatnot, and he ended up passing. So I recognize that frustration, because unless they're homicidal or suicidal, you cannot force care. And it's really hard on families who do love their family members, but then you yeah, very complicated issue. Just kind of circling back to this Change of Heart program and protocol. It's been something that I've kind of been doing a lot of research on since getting in office. Because growing up here, panhandling was not like socially acceptable. You wouldn't see somebody on the street panhandling. And now it's almost every street corner in Kona that has any capacity to reach the car. I am hopeful, cautiously optimistic that this program might create some small dent in it. But in answer to your question, Mr. Chung, I was doing some research a couple of years ago, and there is a city in the mainlandI know that our County got sued by the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) for making panhandling illegal because it's a First Amendment right to panhandle. But this city had such issues with houseless population panhandleactually, I sometimes don't think it's Page 25 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 actually the houseless population. I know it for a fact that many of the panhandlers do have homes, and they're making decent money. So then it becomesI think then it just negatively compounds the perceptions and the reliance. But in this specific community, they made it illegal for anybody driving in a vehicle to hand anything outside of their car. So once it became, that the person drivingI feel bad when I drive by and don't give, right? But once it's a I can't do that for you, it made it—it eliminated the market for panhandlers because the people were going to get in trouble if they panhandled. So I just want to say that I'm interested to see how this Change of Heart— personally, eartpersonally, I would have appreciated knowing about it a little more on the frontend, since it was released in District 7. But I am hopeful that this could be that kind of mild—as you guys know so well, I mean, you have to work on the administrative side of things. And this dance of empathy, and then kuleana, right? And even in this role, it's empathy and helping. But then okay, when this is the piko of Kona Town and the business owners are struggling and striving and being so negatively impacted, how do we take care the people that need to be taken care of, but then hold the vagrants and those that are manipulating the system accountable, to make sure that our community can still operate with a healthy flow? And that's the dance of like how do you write a law. You know, I feel your heart, Mr. Chung, on that. Because I know I see a lot of new faces in Kona, and they're not local people, and they're, you knowI mean, in the `60s it was just like the hippies cruising and whatnot, and now it's changed. The era of self-regulation has also transitioned. But I want to personally thank both of you. In the last two years, the transitions have been really visible in Kona, in the participation of all the different groups working together. Outreach, West Hawaii Community Health Center, I went on some of their outreach programs, and the building of the tiny homes. And even now with the State coming through and offering the office on the pier, to DOBOR (Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation), which is going to create a presence there, and an area that had become kind of this loophole dance between County and State. And our Community Policing Officers, cheers to them; Sergeant Hardie and his team that have created a relationships with those find themselves living in the parks, and are really navigating that. But it's such a tough thing because you know, the empathy and the kuleana become really entwined. So I just want to thank you for everything that you've done. The clean-up on Pawai was just transformative for that space, and I'm grateful. Thank you, Les, for all the work that you've done with resources. And once again, should you be in need of furniture, we have organizations that have lots to repurpose. Page 26 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 But, huge issue. But I want to make sure that as I, myself, continue to try and navigate the path, the legislation that supports in some capacity the outcry of the community saying, "Why aren't there laws about this? Why aren't we protected from this?" That it not be a direct afront to those working in the roles to support those who find themselves houseless, right? So that there is an understanding and an education all the way around. Yeah, in doing that dance together. So, thank you for all that you've done under just constant adversity. Literally, yeah. So thank you for that. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Villegas. 1 want to go okay, yeah.- Go ahead, Mr. Chung. MR. CHUNG: Oh, thanks. You know,just briefly I wanted to say, I mean it's no coincidence that both me and Ms. Villegas share the same things. I mean she said it much more eloquently than I'd be able to do it. But it is this whole balancing test, right? You want to help, but there are other people who are asking for help too, right? Because she representsI mean her district contains Kailua Village, mine is Downtown Hilo. Very similar, yeah, in the impacts of homelessness. And all I want to know is if we do go aggressive with—sorry yeah, Brandee, cannot as aggressive as you wanted to, but can be somewhat aggressive. But always good to ask to get the most, right? But we have to have some reasonable expectation that it's going to have an impact on the visible landscape of the areas that are being affected. And cannot just be same, from now ten years from now saying, "cannot,"right? We've got to know that plan you guys have is rock solid and based on the correct assumptions, yeah. And that's why we just want to have the dialogue. Because we're to help. We want to help, yeah. This is my last thing I'm ever going to say on this topic today already. And I mentioned it before, you know, if we are going to create an inventory of houses or units, you know, we have the necessary resources. We are after all the County. Approvals got to come to the County for land use and others. We've got the Corporation Counsel's office, who could actually hone their skills by doing different things, you know, for land use, and getting the necessary permits and stuff, so we should utilize all of them, and us. You know, I stand ready to do whatever is necessary as long as that plan is rock solid, yeah. And that's all I have to say. Thanks, you guys. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Ms. Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair, and thank you all for being here. And I want to especially thank Ms. Nau for being here and sharing her story, it was very powerful. And I think in all of the discussions I've had with folks about housing issues, this is the first time I've had somebody present, that comes from a houseless situation, and that's important. It's important that you're here as part of Page 27 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 the decision-making process and contributing to that process because it affects you. So I want to just especially mahalo you for your time and your courage to come and speak to us today. If I can I ask you folks for just some clarifying information on the statistics that we were given, or the metrics. Total people served, now is that individual people or number of times they've come in for service? MR. MENINO: Individual unduplicated. MS. KIMBALL: And is that unduplicated from year-to-year or could somebody ? MS. MENINO: Year-to year. MS. KIMBALL: Year-to-year, okay. And then for the, et's see, what it wouldi4 be 39 percent that did not exit into permanent housing, what are some of the primary reasons for that, those folks not exiting into permanent housing? MS. MENINO: So the 478 for 2021,people who moved into permanent housing, this data is derived from those who are in our outreach programs, emergency shelter or transitional shelter, right. So they're on the streets are sheltered and moving into permanent housing. So the 61 percent, I think, you're calculating the 39 percent of those who didn't. MS. KIMBALL: Right. MS. MENINO: Includes people who are still in the shelter or on the streets. MS. KIMBALL: Oh, I see. Okay, okay. MS. MENINO: So it's only at exit— MS. xitMS. KIMBALL: I see, yeah. MS. MENINO: Yeah, 61 percent at exit moved into permanent housing. Reasons could be they returned to homelessness, they moved, you know, they're incarcerated or placed in an institution other than permanent housing, treatment centers. So there's that data, as well. MS. KIMBALL: Okay. And then the four percent that you mentioned of folks that are nonresidents for less than one year, was that specifically for 2021, which we know there were certain control measures? I did try to look at the website for those results; I couldn't find it easily. But is that pretty consistent to previous years? Page 28 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MS. MENINO: Yes, pretty consistent. And it's a low number. It's, you know, the—since I've been reporting this data for the last 10 years, it's been less than 10 percent. MS. KIMBALL: Okay. Thank you. MS. MENINO: So the limitation is, as I reported earlier, it's self-reported. MS. KIMBALL: Right. And is there any intention to move to some sort of mechanism where it's not self-reported? To have a stronger handle on that particular question, because I know that's obviously of importance to MS. MENINO: I don't think there's a current initiative to figure that out. Just on the top of my head, the only time I think a visitor, or even as a resident coming into Hawaii, is the ag form, and we've got to figure a way to capture that data. Like, I think, usually you say returning resident, coming for a vacation, or left because of a conference, perhaps adding a question there. MS. KIMBALL: That's an interesting idea. Couple of things I just wanted to talk about, avoided costs and responsibility for all the funds that you need to do. And just to respond to something my colleague said, Council Member Chung, Finland is actually a great example of a place that has just wiped out homelessness, and they've done it by providing housing, everybody they can house, no questions asked. I mean, it is a really simple solution, you've just got to provide housing. I think there are some assumptions when we look at how many homes are needed, and that's a discussion for another day. I think that number depending on how you do some other things. So anyway, avoided costs. I just—you mentioned$40,000 a month to run the facility over here. And the other number that was presented was $219 a day to incarcerate someone; so if we looked at that same thing over a course of a month, we're talking about six people. It costs $40,000 for the site; it costs $40,000 to incarcerate six people for a month. So, there's an avoided-cost right there. And that'sI'm not going to say this well. I want to kind of talk about where this funding should come from. Because when look at the main areas where costs are avoided, primarily healthcare is going to be your biggest one. Who is responsible for that? Well, it's the State. And I don't want to say that the County shouldn't be responsible at some level, but I think we also need to work harder to get the State to contribute. Particularly—and this is my next question for you, what does the recruitment picture look like for people that are providing services, particularly mental health Page 29 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 services? Are you finding those people that will take the salaries that our State is offering folks in those positions? MS. MENINO: That's a great question. SalariesI mean, as the agency providing these services, we've had to increase our salaries over the years, especially in Kona. We give a geographic differential,just to recruit folks in Kona. You know, so that's another dance we play, is trying to figure out just the right amount. I mean, when I first started to do this, I mean the pay for shelter workers were like $12 an hour. We're currently at$18, but that's still not enough. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah. So I'm going to add to your list of things to ask for the State for one of them is improve salaries, particularly for mental health care workers. You know, we cannot I know that it's a persistent problem, particularly in the substance abuse area, is finding people that will come here and work and provide that. In addition, the comment was made about how important it is—has been with COVID, to keep people housed. And so I'm going to actually pitch to you a bill, that Zonta Club of Hilo has initiated and supported in the past. Almost made it through in 2019, which is the Child Support passthrough with TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), so those families that are receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The State actually keeps all the child care. Twenty-seven states, including the District—and the District of Columbia passed through some of that. You know, often folks that are in these tenuous situations, it's one medical bill, it's one car repair, and now they can't make rent anymore, and so even just providing a little bit. So I would encourage you to also support that legislation. Just to give some perspective, there's like $325 million in that fund, in the State right now, and it can only be used for this purpose. So, I'd love your help on that. MS. MENINO: I'd love to help you with that. MS. KIMBALL: And then,just finally, Jane, thank you for your presentation. Interesting to see how this works out. I've got some mixed feelings about it; I'll just say that right now. What's your measure of success? I mean, you have statistics here about the number of panhandling incidents. Are we just going to say, "Well, now there's no more incidents." Are these people getting these services that are being provided? I'm not quite sure I see what success looks like in this presentation right now. (Note: At this time, Ms. Clement came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 30 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MS. CLEMENT: So panhandling is only viable if people continue to give, right? We consider it a success if we find a reduction of panhandlers around town. Kailua Village Business Improvement District will continue to track those activities throughout Kailua Village, and hopefully we'll see that reduction. And also, the amount of donation that we will receive, so we will really be focusing on the education component of this campaign, because as you know we can't change people's habits and hearts overnight. It's going to take a lot of work to convince people to change the way they do things. So this is going to be a one-year pilot, and after a year we are going to assess the efficacy of the program. And again, the measure of success is if we see a reduction of panhandlers in town, and if we see an increase in the amount of donations received, and hopefully we will be able to give you that report at the same time next year, hopefully. MS. KIMBALL: As a scientist I have to ask you, do you have a control somewhere? MS. CLEMENT: Meaning? MS. KIMBALL: Meaning another location that doesn't have this type of program, where you're monitoring the number of panhandling incidences and observing change over time. I'm just curious that the results, if there's nothing to compare it to—as Mr. Chung always tells about statistics, if there's also no control, it's difficult to validate the results. MS. CLEMENT: So this is kind of why I started this in West Hawaii, because I have data from the Kailua Village Business Improvement District as a base, and then we'll see what that numbers will be like in the next few months, after we've aggressively promote this campaign. That's the only thing I can tell you right now. MS. KIMBALL: I wish you luck with the program. I don't want to discourage anything. MS. CLEMENT: Thank you. MS. KIMBALL: You know, I just—well, we'll see. We'll see how the results come out; we can talk more then. So, thank you. MS. CLEMENT: Yeah. MS. KIMBALL: And thank you all for being here and presenting today. Excellent job. I really—it was very different from the Mass Transit one this morning, but also excellent in its own way. Thank you, Chair. I yield. Page 31 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MS. CLEMENT: Mahalo. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. Anyone else? Jane has to get going, and so if you guys have any other questions for Jane? Okay. I do want to—Jane, kind of lift up what Ms. Kimball is saying, you know, one part of that is measuring if you have less in that area. Our concern is that, that less actually moved to someplace else, so that's the control that she's looking for, right? I don't want to see like that rising tide. The tide goes down, right, in Kailua, but now you see it out in Keauhou instead, right? MS. CLEMENT: Right. CHR. LEE LOY: Maybe that's something you can MS. CLEMENT: We will continue to monitor it. And again, we don't know how successful or effective this will be. But this is just another tool that we are providing our community, and then we'll see how they respond to it. We've got do something. CHR. LEE LOY: Great. Thanks, Jane. MS. CLEMENT: Thank you very much. CHR. LEE LOY: Mr. Inaba, go ahead. MR. INABA: Yeah, thank you. Especially later in this presentation, we talked about what potential we have. Well, $10 million could do, yeah, all these different examples. And I think it might be beneficial for the Office of Housing to consider how we are currently using our Revolving Fund, which is supposed to be for the development of housing, Buyback programs and all of that. Are we using it to the best of our ability? And I don't expect an answer right now, but I think we need to look at that. Because if we're talking about perhaps giving more funds to these initiatives, we need to make sure that a fund that's currently in existence is being used properly. And I think that might be something that the administrator needs to consider, especially for this Council to back. You know, not to say we can't make those changes, to provide more assistance in that area. But there almost is a structure that exists now, who knows how well the structure is being used, so perhaps we can get some kind of information on that moving forward. I just wanted to point that out since we're talking about funds and opportunity there. Thank you. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Anyone else? I do have a couple of questions. And springboarding off Mr. Inaba's question, I think what would be Page 32 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 incredibly helpful for the Council is Hale Hanakahi, the project that we did down at the NAS pool, I think if we got an itemized list or cost, because you mentioned that project was $40,000 a month, and if that's something we need to replicate, it would be really ideal to get some of those hard numbers so that, as Mr. Inaba said and then as Mr. Chung mentioned, if we're going to create this war on homelessness, that those hard numbers would help point us in the right direction and also really measure what type of monies are truly needed. And then I want to dive into kind of the back to the panhandling, which is a very delicate situation. You know, I we have Officer Lewis. I'm going to put you on the spot here. And I think Officer Hardie is also in our Kona Chambers. (Note: At this time, Police Officer Matthew Lewis and Sergeant Michael Hardie came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. LEE LOY: But I'll start with you, Officer Lewis. I just really had a question, as to how many calls do you folks get related to some of these concerns? I know I personally have made a call when I was eating at a restaurant in Downtown Hilo, and just really observed some very unwanted behavior. And so I just wanted to ask the question, how much of your time and resources is kind of being utilized to address some of these concerns that we're hearing around homelessness? OFFICER LEWIS: So I don't think I can give you a quantitative number on how many calls we have. Other calls for disturbance in the downtown areas in Hilo and Kona, on Alii Drive, yes, the number, the hard number, I didn't come prepared with that today. But the calls are there, and a lot of them are from our houseless population that are mentally ill or are substance abuse. And, you know, they need, like the lady said, there's not enough bedspace for all of these people that we have in our community. That's the plan of the hard fact on that number. CHR. LEE LOY: Officer Hardie is over in Kona. Thank you so much, Officer, for being here. You know,just same question, but in Kona. SGT. HARDIE: Okay, well thank you. Good afternoon, Council Members. So again, I was asked to come and sit in and answer some questions. I don't have hard numbers. I'm in the Community Policing Unit, so I don't hear all the calls really, but I think the numbers that are reported and the hotspots that these signs were put up on, they're the areas that we observe, and I observe them frequently. So I think there's a lot more panhandling that goes on that is actually reported. Not everybody reports everything. It's not a nuisance to everybody, you know, some people have a giving-heart and want to continue to give, and create a relationship with some of the people in the community. Page 33 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 And then it gets hard to put a number on it. I mean, the way we could do is add a dispatch call for panhandling or soliciting number. But it's very prevalent in Puna, for sure. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you so much, Officer Hardie and Officer Lewis. Because when I'm reading the section, "The Prohibited Act,"right, is "No person shall solicit in an aggressive manner." How do we measure aggressive? Because here's my question, I am so quick to give to all those baseball teams and all those football teams who are outside of Walmart with their fishing nets, they're not aggressive, and I want to give. Then we get into this panhandling gray area, and so I'm trying to measure that, and kind of what the difference is. OFFICER LEWIS: Well, I don't know offhand what the Code definition of aggressive is, but I'm aware of the section. So aggressive, you know, are you getting physical with somebody, forcing him to give money? Is it going to be an assault, or food, or what are you panhandling for? Are you creating a danger to traffic, to the safety of other pedestrians, or vehicular traffic, right? That could be seen as aggressive. But anybody could be aggressive. The t-ball team panhandling on the corner could be aggressive if the little kids are jumping out in and traffic and somebody has to slam their brakes, right? Now, that's getting dangerous, right? So I think maybe there's a definition of aggressive. Everybody's definition might be different. I don't know what the Code states, if it defines in the beginning of the chapter or not. CHR. LEE LOY: You know, Officer Lewis, we go way back. And I think that's what we're trying to balance, right, is how community kind of seeks different sources of funding. We have so many soccer teams and baseball teams out there who are selling tickets, or like I said, with their fishing nets. I'm just trying to find the balance. And just wanting, as a policymaking body, making sure that we're advancing legislation that does strike that balance. Any suggestion? OFFICER LEWIS: So yes, some suggestions. Let me touch on a couple of things. One, Council Member Chung, you asked the ladies behind me are we making a difference, is it being better? I think we are. Maybe the numbers there's more houseless population because of the events that happened, COVID, the lava. Do we have a better system in place? Yeah, I think we've grown as a County to further that system. Prior to these events, we didn't have this CAP group set up. Are we moving forward? Yes. Are you numbers raising? Yes. Yeah, so I think the percentages might look different. I, too, see people from other states, other counties in our own State come. The percentage, I don't know if that's correct or not. But everybody sees that. and a lot of times you'll see the visual, what's downtown: Hilo Downtown, Alii Drive, Pahoa Town. That's a small percentage of what these entities deal with. I was one of the officers that gave Tilisa tickets, and that is part of our job. Page 34 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 Unfortunately, we have to respond to those calls for service that you're asking about, but we have a duty to uphold the law. Regarding changing for putting in effective legislation for new laws, or changing what have on the County books now, I'm actually working with Parks and Recreation, and Corporation Counsel, and Prosecutor's, to hopefully decriminalize some of that. What I mean by decriminalize, is changing it from a criminal petty misdemeanor down to a violation or infraction. So that changes the, I guess, the level of criminal activity, right. So how it's not a—it's not— you're otyou're not gettingI know you guys understand that, right? Sorry. But yeah, so changing some of that. Maybe making some of them fines instead of mandatory court dates, which lessens the burden of police, which lessens the burden on prosecutors, which lessens the burden on judiciary, right? So, we are working towards that. It should hopefully come—some of that should hopefully come before Council next year. It's not ready yet. So are we working towards that? Yes. And a lot of those Chapter 14 and 15 are County Codes that affect people in the park, our general welfare section of the Code, or Park Code, right? So, that should be coming forward shortly. Is it a small—yeah, it's a small change, but every change to step in that direction. So I would answer yes, we're making that step. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Officer Lewis. I know Mr. Chung wants to follow up on that. OFFICER LEWIS: Yeah, yeah, I can see. I can see he's itching there to ask me something. CHR. LEE LOY: Go ahead, Mr. Chung. MR. CHUNG: You know, I promised the last time was going to be my last comment, right? And it really doesn't have to do with something that you said, it had something to do with what Ms. Kimball said,you know, about working with the Legislature. I just wanted to share this. You know, I was in a meeting with then Mayor, Mayor Kim, you know, the respective money committees at the Legislature, and this was back in, would be the late 2019 or very early in 2020, and at that time they had given an indication that they were going to make an aggressive move, or at least attempt an aggressive move, in trying to maybe incrementally restore the funding for mental health that was taken away right around 2008, maybe 2009 or 2007. That had a significant impact on the way things—what we're seeing right now, and they were going to do something about it. And then COVID came, you Page 35 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 know, and I don't know what happened to that. So maybe, Ms. Kimball, you can kind of work on that. You know, I had at that time suggested the possibility of having satellite hospitals, mental health hospitals, you know, maybe one Kona, one Hilo, in Maui, or wherever. Because, you know, I didn't realize at that time, but—and I don't know if it's 304, 504, 704, or whatever, you know, when the guys have the examination. OFFICER LEWIS: 704. MR. CHUNG: 704, okay. Yeah. But I didn't realize that Kaneohe, that facility is only for 704 people. OFFICER LEWIS: Correct. MR. CHUNG: I thought it was you know, and I bet you a lot of people think it houses those who are need of mental assistance and in a residential setting, uh-uh. OFFICER LEWIS: No. MR. CHUNG: Only 704. OFFICER LEWIS: Correct. MR. CHUNG: We've got to change that, yeah. And if we can get the satellite institutions, because if you ask people at the hospital, at the psych ward, they'll say they're ill-equipped to handle these long-term guys. OFFICER LEWIS: Correct. MR. CHUNG: Yeah? So that's something that could really, really help us out. So think about that, you know, in terms of priorities at the State Legislature. And then for the officers, as it relates to you guys, not in response to anything you said, but I'm just wondering for districts like mine and Ms. Villegas's, and specifically Downtown and Kailua Village, would it help to have more of a police presence over there, in terms of getting more officers? Do you think it could make an impact? Because now we're talking not only compassion, but we're talking police presence as a deterrent. Not to arrest people or anything like that, but just as a deterrent. OFFICER LEWIS: Sorry, deterrent to what? Page 36 HSSSC-12 December 7,2021 MR. CHUNG: Guys doing bad things I guess. OFFICER LEWIS: So the police presence will help in any area to deterrent. MR. CHUNG: Well, I'm talking specifically over here, would it make an impact or no? OFFICER LEWIS: Yes. MR. CHUNG: Okay, as all. That is all I'm going to say. Thank you. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you. I'm going to ask Officer Hardie to respond to Mr. Chung's question. SGT. HARDIE: Regarding the extra police presence? CHR. LEE LOY: Correct. SGT. HARDIE: Absolutely. I mean the calls for service in Puna and Hilo are I would say by far the busiest districts, so any assistance we could get would definitely make a difference. Especially if they were permanently down there all the time, we alter our foot patrols and bike patrols. Our unit has eight people and we're not just assigned to homeless. We're assigned to everything. Someone's upset with a faded flag, or your name it, we're responding to it. A lot of the complaints that come to the Mayor's Office or the Chief come directly to my lap. So we could definitely use more presence, and the public would appreciate it,just seeing more officers in there more frequently. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, gentlemen. You know, I just want to thank everybody for being here today for this presentation. But Sharon knows this, we run, right, and really—we're going to know that homelessness—we're resolving homelessness. And, Sharon, you know we run the same route, is when we see less of them on the side of the road or in our business doorways, that really will actually measure the efficacy of all the work that everybody is doing. So with that, Mr. Clerk, we have a motion to close file on Communication 533. All those in favor,please say "aye." Page 37