What do you think of the information shared? The symposium on homelessness was Informative and many felt more educated as to what is going on in our district. There are a lot of service providers and 9 Shelters (5 Waianae, 4 Kapolei). Waianae has the 2nd largest homeless population. Our homeless population exceeds the resources available. We don’t live in a sustainable manner. We are losing our sense of community, don’t know our neighbors, and need to start taking care of our own community. How did we get here?

1. Housing a. Insufficient housing and services b. Landlords afraid to rent to Section 8 due to damages, etc. c. Section 8 waitlist d. Lack of regulation on Development and need to enforce better

2. Financial a. High cost of living, Hawaii is not affordable b. Outside buyers in the community; investors cause price hikes c. No rent control d. Lack of jobs with sufficient wage e. Economy took the Culture away

Before: Depend on each other, Farmer helps fisherman Everyone helped raise the community Multi­generational community to take care

Now: High prices cannot help cause gotta take care own High cost of living, leap to a rat race world

f. Recession g. Increased rent pushed out families

3. State/City a. Infrastructure not done well b. Flooded land c. Hawaiian homestead waitlist (lower percentage) d. Sweeps e. Affordable housing and the lack of rules to keep housing affordable

4. Community/Private Organizations a. Drugs and crimes b. Influx of people to Hawaii c. Mental health issues

5. Cultural a. No Aloha b. Ancestral trauma

How do we fix the problem? 1. State/City

a. Longer/adjusted time in transitional shelters b. Public assistance should have a time limit­it turns into a cycle c. Create community­smaller groups, then services d. Smaller shelter population­more individualized attention e. Provide mechanism for individuals to progress to housing f. State/City to designate harbor as a safe zone g. Drug test/alcohol screening prior to receiving state/fed funds h. Rent control i. Wages: increase minimum wage j. Educational subsidies sliding scale/fee k. De­occupation l. Harbor: stabilize a community m. Creative drug treatment

2. Community and Private Organizations a. Connect cultural practitioners with homeless to help them farm and fish (teach

a man to fish) b. Allow churches to continue services c. Seek private funding d. Landlord e. Employment opportunities f. Livable wages g. Affordable housing in our community that we can afford h. Workforce Development i. Job Creation j. Creative ways to use housing, repurpose existing inventory k. Advocacy on behalf of homeless individuals l. Scholarships and educational subsidies sliding scale/fee m. Company investment­50% give back n. Mental health treatment o. Self­help housing developments

3. Self­Reliance a. Take care of yourself first before others b. Education