HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0589.036 2020-2022 i
My name is Luke Xavier and I am writing in support of Bill 111, which would appropriate at least 75% of the
property tax revenue that is currently collected from second homes valued over$2 million.
In my work as a Psychiatric/ Mental Health Nurse Practitioner I help members of our community avoid and
overcome homelessness, through programs like IHS and Hope Services Hawaii's clinical operations which are
an integral part of the wraparound services offered by partners in our community. These programs are proven
successful, but only when they are adequately funded! There are many more people on Hawaii Island who
need this service.
If you increased our funding, we would likely be able to serve hundreds more people and hire more needed
clinicians like myself on a full time, salaried basis to provide consistent and quality care without relying solely
on fickle grant money.
Homelessness is a traumatic experience. Whether someone is on the street for one night or for ten years, the
trauma they experience can become a complex and vicious cycle of health issues (which include mental
health/substance abuse), low wages, inability to become employed, violence, abuse, arrest, incarceration, and
broken support systems. If these issues are not adequately addressed, and if the person is not able to heal,
they are unlikely to attain permanent housing.
With federal GOVID money drying up in September, and state funding that is unreliable and inadequate, we
need our county to step up and make sure that programs like ours are well resourced, so that we can continue
to move the needle on homelessness.
Please join me in supporting Bill 111, so that we can make housing and wraparound services accessible to our
island's most vulnerable residents.
Mahalo,
Luke Xavier,APRN, PMHNP