HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-03-15 Letter to Josh Green & Will Espere ro Homelessness �•Oi y•
Wil Okabe
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Barbara J. Kossow
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25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603 • Hdo,Hawaii 96720 • (808)961-8211 • Fax(808)961-6553
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March 15, 2017
Senator Josh Green, Chair
Committee on Human Services
Hawaii State Capitol
Honolulu, HI 96813
Senator Will Espero, Chair
Committee on Housing
Hawai'i State Capitol
Honolulu, HI 96813
Dear Chairs Green, Espero, and Committee members:
RE: Homelessness: HB 527, HD1; HB 1195, HD 1; HB 1281, HD 1
HB 83, HD1;HB 1240, HD2; HB1098, HD2; SCR 56
Between your two committees, all the above bills dealing with homelessness will
be heard. It is difficult for me to pick and choose among them, and I will defer to your
good judgment as to which approaches should move forward and be funded. But I
would be remiss if I did not thank you for the attention that you are giving to the issue,
and express my hope that you and your fellow legislators will continue to strive to ease
this burden and deal humanely with the pain that homelessness afflicts, both on those
without shelter and on the community at large.
I should put in a special word for SCR 56. Using Medicaid funds to treat
homelessness seems to be such an innovative approach; it deserves extra kudos.
Homelessness is an obvious failure of our society to meet the basic needs of all
our people. We cannot hesitate to search for solutions.
Res. -ctfully submitted,
Harry Ki
Mayor
County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.