DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY SERVICES (DCS)

January 2021 – December 2023

1. O‘AHU HOUSING NOW (OAN)
   DCS expanded the reach of housing vouchers to the homeless community who wanted to be housed. Over 300 families and over 850 homeless were housed through OAN. The program was incredibly effective at ending homelessness for participants, with fewer than 3% of households returning to homelessness after enrolling in the program.
2. CITY’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND PROGRAM
   DCS made $40 million available from the City’s Affordable Housing Fund to fund affordable housing units at 60% Area Median Income (AMI) or below for 60 years. From that solicitation, DCS recommended awarding $28,172,989 in affordable housing funds to six projects across the island of O‘ahu to create 972 units of affordable housing for Honolulu residents within five years. Of those projects, three had groundbreaking ceremonies within 2 years.
3. ADMINISTERED GRANTS TO 273 NON-PROFITS
   DCS administered 273 grants to non-profit agencies over two years, non-profits that provided services to the most vulnerable populations on O‘ahu, including seniors, persons with disabilities, children, victims of domestic abuse, homeless persons and those suffering from the effects of substance abuse or poor mental health.
4. OPENED STATE’S FIRST MEDICAL DETOX FACILITY IN IWILEI WORKING WITH IHS
   DCS partnered with the Institute for Human Services (IHS) to open the state’s first medical detox triage facility of its kind in Iwilei, called ‘Imi Ola Piha. The new facility provides 24-hour care for up to 8 homeless residents at a time, with withdrawal and psychiatric medication, counseling support services and security for the staff and patients. Stabilization beds such as these are instrumental in freeing up overburdened hospitals and prisons.
5. SUCCESSFULLY NEGOTIATED WITH RIVER OF LIFE TO END PUBLIC FEEDING IN CHINATOWN
   DCS negotiated an agreement with the River of Life Mission to relocate its public feeding operation from the sidewalks of Chinatown to several new hubs on O‘ahu. This change redefined the makeup of individuals on the streets of Chinatown and assisted River of Life in its mission to serve the homeless where they live.
6. REDUCING THE CYCLE OF HOMELESSNESS
   DCS has overseen multiple initiatives dedicated to reducing homelessness by preventing people from falling into the cycle of homelessness and by helping to lift people out of homelessness. Through these efforts, overall homelessness has decreased from its high point in 2017. Since 2015, veteran homelessness has decreased and homelessness among O‘ahu’s keiki population has decreased as well.
7. REOPENED WAITING LIST FOR HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS
   DCS successfully reopened the waiting list to applicants for Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8). There were 11,000 applicants and 3,000 were randomly selected. DCS currently serves over 4,000 families with these vouchers. We deploy these vouchers to over 1,300 landlords.
8. DISTRIBUTED ARPA FUNDS TO NON-PROFITS IN NEED
   DCS launched and implemented $10 million in ARPA Non-Profit relief program funds for losses experienced by non-profits during the pandemic.
9. DCS ACCEPTED AND USED 212 ADDITIONAL EMERGENCY HOUSING VOUCHERS
   DCS expanded the number of available vouchers by using 212 Emergency Housing Vouchers made available by HUD with Partners in Care, our Continuum of Care partner.
10. ASSISTED INMATES TRANSITIONING OUT OF CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
    DCS provided inmates at two Hawai‘i Public Safety correctional facilities with comprehensive support for a smooth transition to housing and employment upon release, which has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor as a Promising Practice.
11. FOUR-YEAR PLAN ON AGING (2023 – 2027)
    The DCS Elderly Affairs Division composed and implemented a new Four-Year Plan for aging covering the period 2023 through 2027.