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September 9, 2014 Contact:  Mayor Caldwell's Press Office, 768-5768 (Jesse Broder Van Dyke mobile: 489-0341)     Public Meeting on proposed Sand Island Housing First Transition Center   Honolulu – The City and County of Honolulu will host a Public Meeting on the proposed Sand Island Housing First Transition Center this Wednesday, September 10, 2014, from 6-8 p.m. at the Pu'uhale Elementary School Cafeteria.   Housing First is a nationally recognized best practice that takes the most vulnerable chronically homeless individuals and families off of the street and places them directly into permanent supportive housing, with access to services to help support their independence.   After pushing for funding for Housing First for 18 months, funding was made available to begin implementation of the city's program beginning in FY15; it will take 12-18 months for Housing First to be fully operational.   Since the city's permanent supportive housing efforts are just starting up, the Caldwell Administration is considering to establish a temporary Housing First Transition Center (Center) in partnership with the State at Sand Island.   This facility will not be a "safe zone" or "tent city".  Instead, Housing First principles will be employed in an outdoor setting to bring homeless persons into a safe, supportive environment and provide assessment services, stability, and access to supportive services in the interim before permanent housing units become available.   It is a stopgap measure to immediately support 100 of our most challenged unsheltered individuals and families and apply best practices to get them the support they need and desire.   The Sand Island location was selected after an exhaustive search that included 25 locations island-wide, from Hawaii Kai to Ewa. Most sites were deemed unusable for this purpose due to proximity to high density residential areas, proximity to schools, or economic impact on larger community.   The safety of the occupants of this Center, service providers, neighbors, surrounding businesses, and the general public who use facilities on Sand Island is the top priority for the Housing First Transition Center.  The Center will have 24/7 security and onsite management staff working in coordination with security teams from neighboring properties.   Supportive services, case management, and transportation services will all be available to clients and there is no charge to stay at the facility.  The Center will offer a hygiene center, secure storage, segregated sleeping and community areas and be pet friendly.   This is a new and innovative approach for a municipality to take in addressing homelessness and its success will depend on support, cooperation, and assistance from the neighboring community, public, State, service providers, community organizations, advocates, and businesses.   -END-