‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ # [#]Aloha Friend,

This week Governor Josh Green celebrated the arrival of the first units for Hawaii’s first medical respite kauhale, or tiny house village, just steps away from the governor’s residence and the State Departments of Health and Education, and across the street from both the State Capitol and The Queen’s Medical Center.

“We are building a medical respite kauhale in our own backyard... because we want to lead by example,” Governor Green said. “We need to say ‘yes in my backyard.’ We can and will welcome partnerships to provide the services they need to put them on a path toward healing; we can and will show aloha to our neighbors.”

[[link removed]]

The 12-unit village is being constructed by nonprofit HomeAid Hawaii in the mauka-most section of the Department of Health parking lot, will be completely fenced and will have 24-hour private security.

A separate hygiene trailer is being provided by the nonprofit Project Vision Hawaii, which will provide round-the-clock staffing at the kauhale for intake, supervision, and care coordination, as well as registered nurses who will make daily rounds.

“The design process accounted for the privacy of both kauhale residents and state employees who park in the adjacent lot, as well as people who walk through the area to get to their offices,” Chief Housing Officer Nani Medeiros said. “The exterior design is inspired by the ‘ōhiʻa lehua blossom, which is often the first to bloom after a lava flow and which embodies resiliency and thriving amid destruction.”

The groundbreaking medical respite facility will serve people experiencing homelessness who are released from hospital inpatient beds, as well as people without homes who are discharged from the emergency room and have nowhere to go.

“It is important to emphasize that this is a temporary kauhale for medical respite,” said James Koshiba, Governor Green’s Coordinator on Homelessness. “It is designed to address a gap in our current systems that discharge medically frail people back into homelessness. This is one step in the process, while we also work to open up respite beds in existing community facilities in about six months.”

The medical respite kauhale is expected to receive its first residents by the end of this month, after a Community Day when donated goods will be delivered and Capitol district state employees will volunteer to assemble bed frames, move in furniture, and put the finishing touches on the units.

“These are intended to be spaces where communities are built, whether they are temporary or permanent,” Koshiba added. "No matter what it looks like, kauhale are spaces where people take care of each other and take care of the place together, and that includes having support from surrounding neighbors, and that’s us."

Friend, we will continue to keep you updated on the progress we are making with this and other projects in the coming weeks and months — and, as always, thank you for being an important member of Team Green.

Mahalo,

Team Green

DONATE [[link removed]]

VOLUNTEER [[link removed]]

Josh Green is a local doctor who has spent his life caring for Hawaii families. As Lt. Governor and state COVID liaison, he helped keep Hawaii safe and informed during the pandemic, leading the effort to vaccinate over a million people, protect our kupuna, and save thousands of lives. Josh is running for governor because he believes Hawaii needs elected leaders we can trust, who care about people.

[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]

PAID FOR AND APPROVED BY JOSH GREEN FOR HAWAII
PO BOX 88 HONOLULU HI 96810

Click here to unsubscribe [[link removed]]