STAND. COM. REP. NO. 292

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 906

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 906 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to better assist individuals facing or experiencing homelessness by making a grant to fund a full-time 211 Homeless Care Coordinator position at Aloha United Way.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Aloha United Way and one individual.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Human Services and the Chancery Office of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.

 

     Your Committee finds that one of the many challenges faced when addressing the State's homelessness problem is that although there is a wide variety of services that are available to help the homeless, services are provided by multiple agencies with different eligibility criteria and, in some cases, limited geographical coverage.

 

     Your Committee further finds that Aloha United Way 211 is an excellent way to help people navigate through an often confusing array of services and providers.  Aloha United Way 211 is a free, confidential information and referral service that is available statewide, fifteen hours a day, five days a week.  Dialing 2-1-1 immediately provides callers with access to a specialist who directs callers to more than four thousand programs and services as appropriate to their needs.  Aloha United Way 211 offers vital information to people seeking referrals or access to homeless shelters, food pantries, rent payment assistance, health insurance, and other public assistance programs.

 

     Your Committee also finds that in 2009, over forty-two thousand people called Aloha United Way 211.  In 2010, Aloha United Way 211 handled forty-three thousand requests for help, leading to over sixty thousand referrals.  With the downturn in the economy, many of these callers desired assistance with basic human needs such as shelter and food.  Over six thousand calls were requests for services to help homeless individuals or those individuals on the verge of becoming homeless.

 

     Your Committee notes that the cost to fund a part-time 211 Homeless Care Coordinator position at Aloha United Way would be $30,000 a year.

 

     Your Committee has heard the concerns regarding the limited availability of monies from the General Fund.  Your Committee has also heard the concerns regarding the fact that requests for assistance are primarily being made at homeless drop-in centers.  Your Committee believes that these concerns merit further discussion by the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Amending section 1 of this measure to reflect the correct operating hours of Aloha United Way 211, based on testimony provided by Aloha United Way;

 

     (2)  Deleting references to a "full-time 211 Homeless Care Coordinator position" and adding references to a "part‑time 211 Homeless Care Coordinator position"; and

 

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 906, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 906, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

 

____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair