Gov. Josh Green, whose campaign for office included a hearty endorsement of kauhale villages as a key strategy in addressing the state’s homelessness problem, hosted a blessing Friday for the first kauhale project of his young administration, one that addresses a very specific yet pressing need.

What You Need To Know

  • Pulama Ola will serve inpatient and emergency room patients discharged from urban Honolulu hospitals who would otherwise be forced to continue their recovery on the streets

  • The 10-unit facility will include around-the-clock staffing for intake, supervision and care coordination

  • Pulama Ola’s true cost is estimated at more than $470,000 but volunteer labor and in-kind material and supply donations brought the cost down to approximately $300,000, which itself was fully covered by donations 

  • The facility, which will be operated by Project Vision Hawaii, is projected to save the state an estimated $800,000 per year in proper discharge planning for medically frail homeless individuals not utilizing hospitals for step-down care

Pulama Ola, located in the Department of Health parking lot in close proximity to the state Capitol, will serve inpatient and emergency room patients discharged from urban Honolulu hospitals who would otherwise be forced to continue their recovery on the streets.

Unlike regular kauhale villages, which are intended to provide long-term housing in the form of tiny homes, multi-family dwellings, apartment buildings or other shelter types, the Pulama Ola medical respite kauhale is a temporary facility that will provide shelter for homeless individuals who need a safe place to recover but do not require skilled nursing. The 10-unit facility will include around-the-clock staffing for intake, supervision and care coordination. Registered nurses on staff will make daily rounds for basic care needs. The facility includes a nurse’s station and a publicly accessible hygiene trailer.

Echoing earlier comments about the facility, Green said the project is an example of community collaboration providing an opportunity to “achieve long-lasting change.”

“Just as aloha comes from within and is shared outwardly, we too can embody the spirit of aloha and inspire others to do the same,” Green said.

The project was constructed by the nonprofit HomeAid Hawaii, which convenes developers, funders, providers and homeless individuals to co-design and build reduced-cost housing for the state’s homeless population.

Pulama Ola’s total cost is estimated at more than $470,000, but volunteer labor and in-kind material and supply donations brought the final cost down to approximately $300,000, which itself was fully covered by financial donations by The Queen’s Health System, First Hawaiian Bank Foundation, HMSA and Home Depot.

“Pulama Ola is a testament to how improved policy and access to resources make it possible to mobilize our partners in developing this site in record time,” said HomeAid Hawaii executive director Kimo Carvalho.

The facility, which will be operated by Project Vision Hawaii, is projected to save the state an estimated $800,000 per year in proper discharge planning for medically frail homeless individuals not utilizing hospitals for step-down care.

“A project of this nature highlights this administration’s dedication to serving our unsheltered neighbors and finding solutions to the realities facing the unsheltered folks in our community,” said James Koshiba, the governor’s coordinator on homelessness. “An immediate response to the need for medical respite highlights the bold, quick action necessary to tackle the issues immediately as we create long-term, permanent solutions toward deeply affordable housing for our unhoused neighbors statewide.”

The state continues to work with private and community-based partners to find additional medical respite space within existing community facilities. As these spaces become available, the need for the medical respite kauhale is expected to decline, and units will be relocated to other areas, with the intention of being used at a long-term kauhale site. 

Last week, dozens of Capitol District state employees volunteered to assemble furniture and prepare the units for use.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.