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December 16, 2014   Contact:          Jun Yang, (808) 768-4303                        Glenna Wong, (808) 291-4035     Executive housing director for city to update homeless project   (Nanakuli, HI) – Executive Director of Housing for the City & County of Honolulu, Jun Yang, will publicly speak about the homeless in West Oahu and City's Housing First program.  The event will be held on Tuesday, January 27th at 6:30 p.m. during the Church with No Walls service at Nanaikapono Protestant Church.   According to Jun Yang, "O`ahu's homeless are not just numbers.  They are people --  men, women, and children, families and individuals, who often suffer from mental health issues and / or substance abuse and have no safety net to catch them. Although there may be specific complicating factors that contributed to the individual or household becoming homeless, Housing First is a nationally recognized best practice that is proven to be the most effective and efficient approach to getting our chronically homeless living off of the streets. Housing our chronically homeless in permanent supportive housing from caring service providers provides stability and encouragement through resources designed to help them become whole again.  This program takes away the barriers and provides housing as a first step, without preconditions.  Once off the street, services are provided and recovery begins."   Coordination is key and the City, State, Federal and service providers are aligning their funding and programs to efficiently and effectively bring homeless individuals into housing, according to Yang.  They are working together through an effort called Hale O Malama, in conjunction with the Federal effort known as the 25 Cities Initiative.   The Housing First presentation is open to the general public and is encouraged to attend. Immediately after the presentation, there will be a Q & A session where the general public can participate and learn more.  For further information, call 768-4303.   -END-