A commission report found that Maui does not have a comprehensive plan for supporting unhoused residents, leaving efforts largely to nonprofit organizations.

“Maui’s Cost of Government Commission, a nine-member group tasked with looking for ways to make the county government more effective, recently released a 559-page report looking at ways Maui could end homelessness and ensure that anyone who loses their housing can get into a shelter.”
According to reporting by Marina Starleaf Riker for Honolulu Civil Beat, “Among their key findings: despite sharing a common goal that one day, no Maui residents will have to live on the street, there’s ‘persistent disagreement’ among the organizations working to help them, and no one has a comprehensive plan on how to do that work either.”
Maui, like many communities across the continental U.S., has watched in recent decades as the presence of people living on streets has become increasingly visible. The phenomenon, experts say, can be blamed on decades of policy decisions and the economic consequences that followed: slashing funding for federal housing programs, the lack of investment in mental and physical health care, mass incarceration, soaring housing prices and stagnant wages for the working class.
The report acknowledges the county’s need for external advice. “The report’s main suggestion: Use county dollars to hire an expert to come up with a plan to end homelessness, similar to how the county just spent roughly $300,000 on a consultant to examine ways to build more affordable housing.”
FULL STORY: Report: Maui Needs A Plan If It Actually Wants To End Homelessness

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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