HONOLULU, HI  ?   Governor Josh Green, M.D. today cleared a path toward expedited resolution of Hawai?i’s homelessness crisis that threatens the health, safety, security and well-being of our community, by signing an emergency proclamation to work collaboratively with federal and county agencies on measures to provide relief.

“As long as we are in a housing crisis, we will treat it like an emergency,” said Gov. Green today, in his State of the State Address. “This emergency proclamation streamlines the construction process for housing, removing unnecessary red tape,and enables our community partners to tackle homelessness and the housing shortage head-on.”

The intention of the emergency action is to speed construction of the 12 kauhale, or tiny village communities, that Gov. Green cited in today?s address. These kauhale projects will provide shelter for un-housed people with minimal, if any, impact on the environment. They also can be built faster than large-scale projects. Kama‘ok? in Kalaeloa, for instance, provided 37 tiny homes, a commercial kitchen, shared hygiene facilities and close proximity to services for residents. Kama‘ok? was built in six months under a similar emergency proclamation.

The emergency relief period will continue through March 20, 2023, unless terminated or superseded by separate proclamation, whichever occurs first.

An executed copy of the emergency proclamation can be found here.