Returning homeless to the mainland could become permanent

Popular and successful efforts that have returned over 800 homeless people to the mainland since 2015 would become permanent if either of two bills in the state Legislature becomes law this session.

In 2024, 6,389 homeless people were counted as homeless across the state, with most of them — 4,494 — on Oahu.

The overwhelming majority are from Hawaii.

But House Bill 212 and Senate Bill 360 would focus on people with mainland ties who ended up homeless in the islands and are willing to go back, with the state paying half the cost of their airfares.

There remains a common belief that “most” of Hawaii’s homeless are from the mainland and that mainland cities, counties and states are “dumping” them in Hawaii with no resources.

Angie Knight of the Institute of Human Services — which operates Hawaii’s largest homeless shelters and helped launch Hawaii’s initial “repatriation” efforts in 2015 — has been surprised by the attention on sending homeless people back to the mainland, when the majority are actually from Hawaii.

But IHS nevertheless supports the state making a “Return to Home Program” and funding it through HB 212 and SB 360.

She called “the Return to Home Program one solution to homelessness. This relocation program is just one part of a more complex problem that we’re all working together to solve.”

Rep. Adrian Tam (D, Waikiki) introduced HB 212, which would focus on the specific segment of Hawaii’s homeless population with ties to the mainland who agree to go back to families and support, including in-­patient treatment.

“Everyone acknowledges that there are homeless people here from the mainland,” Tam said. “It doesn’t solve the big, overarching problem of homelessness, but it is a start. It’s a proven ­success. It’s all voluntary and has reunited the homeless here with family on the mainland.”

In the House, Tam said HB 212 has received widespread support from both Republicans and Democrats, who continue to hear concerns about homelessness from their frustrated constituents.

Neither House nor Senate bill proposes a specific dollar amount for funding a permanent program.

The exact amount, if legislators approve the idea, would be decided during budget negotiations at the end of the legislative session as part of overall state spending.

In February 2014 the state took over what had been ad hoc “repatriation” programs and created a pilot project that has since returned 137 people to the mainland in one year.

When he served in the House, now-state homeless coordinator John Mizuno dipped into his own wallet to fly homeless people from the mainland back to families who would welcome them.

In his new role, Mizuno continues to urge legislators to make Hawaii’s pilot project permanent and ensure a steady source of state funding that would include a salary for a full-time staff member to help administer it.

HB 212 and SB 360 also would require homeless people who volunteer to have “the necessary and proper preparations for travel, including obtaining proper identification, accessing public transportation to the airport, providing orientation relating to airport security, and ensuring sufficient personal hygiene.”

IHS originally joined forces in 2015 with the Hawai‘i Lodging and Tourism Association, along with donations from a private foundation, to relocate homeless people in Hawaii back to the mainland.

HLTA then also contributed money to start a relocation program with Maui’s tourism industry, and a third effort began on Hawaii island, Knight said.

But subsequent funding was sometimes inconsistent, even as homeless people continued to return to the mainland.

For homeless people in Hawaii, or their families on the mainland, who cannot afford their half of the airfare, Knight said, “for the special cases we’re able to cover it.”

“This program is for helping to reunite homeless people among communities of support, such as families,” Knight said. “This program is not about sending homeless individuals to be homeless in other locations.”

There is no shortage of reasons why people from the mainland find themselves homeless in the islands, they have told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser over the years.

Some arrive as happy couples, or as an effort to restart their relationships in “paradise,” only to break up, leaving neither able to afford Hawaii’s high cost of housing and able to survive financially on their own.

Others wore out their welcomes with family and friends on the mainland through behavior including theft, violence, substance abuse and mental health issues and were offered one-way tickets to anywhere else and chose Hawaii.

Some tourists fell in love with Hawaii and decided to stay but struggled to survive and ended up homeless.

And several others arrived as new employees from more affordable states and did not calculate that their salaries could not keep up with Hawaii’s high cost of living, and got financially underwater.

Among the homeless people who have been flown back home, Knight said, “some were here for 15 years, and some a few weeks, two weeks, two days.”

In written testimony in support of HB 212, IHS’ Knight said:

“Currently, over 60% of new intakes at our men’s shelter are recent arrivals from out-of-state. Moreover, over the past year, we’ve seen an increase in demand for relocation services for individuals receiving care at behavioral health crisis centers and our own triage and treatment center, individuals voluntarily wishing to participate in in-patient programs in the mainland. A partnership with Waikiki community partners has also helped identify more candidates for this program more efficiently.”