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HONOLULU (KHON2) — Since the aughts, Americans have hailed our job creators as titans amongst rabble. Those who dare to create jobs for others to labor.
But something we haven’t stopped to think about is how social services creates jobs.
Hundreds of thousands of people work, earn a paycheck, spend that paycheck, prop up the economy and do their part to ensure that the United States (and Hawaiʻi) has a powerful economic model all while being paid to work with houseless or unsheltered individuals and families.
So, some of the most expansive services that creates jobs are our houseless and unsheltered populations. Without these individuals and families, hundred, even thousands, of people would be out of work. They would not draw a paycheck. They would not purchase goods and services. They would not be contributing to the economy.
But Laura Thielen, the Executive Director for Partners In Care, explained that the greatest obstacle to creating more jobs to deal with the ever-mounting populations of houseless and unsheltered individuals and families is the lack of flexible funding.
So, while her agency can employ and train individuals, they usually end up leaving to take employment that can offer more money. If they choose to stay in the lower paying jobs, then they risk falling into the system. And as we know, the system is not a friend to those who are houseless or unsheltered individuals or families.
Most of the narratives that are espoused by folks deriding houseless individuals and families say things like, “cleaning up the homeless” or “clearing out the homeless”. All lingual indicators that trash or rubbish need to be removed.
But every physician, nurse, social worker, health worker, therapist, rubbish collector — this list can go on for pages — that works with houseless or unsheltered individuals and families have their jobs, their paychecks, because those people are in fact without a permanent residence.
There are multiple federal agencies that employ people to work with houseless or unsheltered individuals and families, and each of these agencies wield hundreds of millions of dollars to do so. Money that goes into our economy.
Likewise, Hawaiʻi has several state and county agencies that do the same. The agencies receive funding from the federal government as well as our Hawaiʻi State government to spend millions on services and paychecks that are directly related to helping Hawaiʻi’s houseless or unsheltered individuals and families.
Then, there are the non-profits. Partners in Care; Hope Services Hawaiʻi; Project Hawaiʻi, Inc; Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center; Lōkahi Treatment Centers — again, this list can go on and on — all employ people who are paid money to contribute to our economy. Their jobs? Working with Hawaiʻi’s houseless or unsheltered individuals and families.
Thielen said that there are many positions that need to be filled with the various agencies around the state but that restrictions on the contracts prevent agencies from paying an adequate salary.
This means that with funding that allows for people to earn a living wage, not only will we mitigate more houselessness but we will provide more economic opportunities for people.
When you do a preliminary search, there are four massive federal agencies that employ hundreds of thousands of people across the U.S. The same is seen in Hawaiʻi with four state agencies that employ thousands of people. Then, the county agencies that employ hundreds.
A preliminary search for non-profit organizations in Hawaiʻi shows approximately 30 agencies across the state that also employ hundreds possibly thousands whose job it is to work with Hawaiʻi’s houseless or unsheltered individuals and families.
So, the next time you see houseless or unsheltered individuals and families, be sure to remember that they are a vital part of our economy.