 Noontide to you. My name is Howard Wigg, Hawaii State Energy Office and the proud host of Code Green, which specializes generally in energy efficient matters. Today, we are going to be talking about a really important topic, tiny homes, homes for the houseless. I think we can all agree that if we had to list all of Hawaii's problems while the COVID would probably come number one, but then would come houselessness. And it's not just for the houseless, but very low income people to living in paradise is a real, real struggle. I had the good fortune as a youth to be to hitchhike through third world countries, and I would stay in villages just with the grass huts and families all in a small space. And something that taught me was how little material goods you really need. These people were actually healthy and happy in really, really limited spaces and with limited amenities. And that taught me that we Americans don't need two and a half thousand square feet of housing and all of the material things we had. So what we really need and we're going to be talking about is community. In addition to housing gives me great pleasure to have two really distinguished guests. Constance Mitchell, who is the CEO of IHS Institute of Human Services and turns out the instigator of a lot of this type of housing. And you may remember that one of the COVID centers turned out to be IHS and don't know how she did it. Connie solved the problem, got people isolated. How in the world do you do that? I have no idea. So and then we're going to be joined by James Pookele. I memorized your name James Pookele, yeah? Something like that. Anyway, he is the head of dynamic community solutions and they have a real live bustling community on the Y and I coast taking care of a whole lot of people who need taking care of. And I think you'll agree with me after seeing this that all we need to do is multiply these types of communities by 100 times statewide and boom. We wouldn't have a houseless problem and people would be able to live safely and securely. So we've got a lot of ground to cover. Miss Connie, why don't you take it over? Howard, thank you so much for inviting me to this version of Think Tech. I'm just really excited about sharing some of the things that we've been doing at IHS with Tiny Homes. And I had met James Pookele, who's also our guest this morning, just from the aspect of trying to learn from him about what they're doing out in Y and I and just kind of incorporating a lot of some of the things that they're doing with what we're doing at IHS too. So anyway, I wanted to just go to the slide that I brought along this morning to just share with you about our exploration of different kinds of ideas that we've used or have given us to use for Tiny Homes for people. So we really know that these mini homes are a real solution for people who are experiencing homelessness or homelessness. And we've used them for emergency shelter, for transitional or bridge housing, what we call it, you know, temporarily before they get into permanent housing. And then I've had the good fortune to work with some people who are using permanent, you know, these smaller structures for permanent housing as well. And then I've been really playing around with the idea of actually using them in this time of COVID for isolation. So I just wanted to kind of share how we might be able to do that. So the first experience that we had was using these containers that were originally fitted by the city, create what is now known as Halima Leola at the San Island Housing Navigation Center. Halima Leola means a place of healing. And we really wanted it to be so and we were given these containers to work with people. But, you know, it really was pretty stark at the beginning. And it wasn't until they started doing things together. And we have in there, like a central hallway that is not shown exactly over there. But there's a place where people come together to do activities, to eat together. And that was necessary, absolutely necessary, you know, for us to develop a community. So that's the first one, you know, that we use for emergency services. It was really containers that were ready for this. They were cut into either three rooms or two rooms, depending upon whether we were going to put an ADA or a couple's unit in, you know, the ones that were cut in half. There were 20 foot containers or whether we were going to do three individual units for single people. We have pets there. We have couples that can stay together. A lot of times when people go to shelters, they're not allowed to stay together. So we used to have to divide them and separate them. The next one, best emergency housing, was actually donated by Prometheus Construction. And so Cliff Tillerson was gracious enough to share these two little houses that he had created. And he really was thinking that he wanted to make some kind of housing that was going to be really good for people who are coming in out of homelessness as well. And so we had that move to Halemaleola. So it sits in there, you know, along with the other containers. And I kind of like created two rooms that look like they're dormitory rooms, you know, for college students maybe or something. But they fit, you know, like a bed and a place to eat maybe. And these all are just rooms for people to live in for privacy. But they don't include a bathroom or, you know, kitchen facilities. We use communal kitchen facilities and communal hygiene centers there. Next slide, please. This one is transitional housing that we're involved in by the fact that we're providing the services, the case management services. But it's actually operated by the First Assembly of God and it's called a shelter. So it's a really beautiful setting, you know, there are these dome structures that are also divided on the right side. You see a picture of the way that is divided inside with actual walls. And these are, of course, our structures, but really a wonderful place for single moms with children, you know, to have a place to live. The families that are coming into this community are actually have been living in their cars, you know, or somewhere else not meant for human habitation. And it's really a great opportunity for lives. And they have the support of a community that is that church. This is our latest, you know, addition to Halima Leola. And this is a two story building that was designed by the perfect space and donated to IHS at Halima Leola by Frank Rogers, who was the designer. And it was his brainchild to create. Oh, there's two stories. So it could actually two different households, which we're thinking that we might want to do that with an external, you can't see it here, but there would be an external stairway going up and it would be divided. So each of them have their own private entrance. And so this is another version of, you know, a tiny home, really tiny home. But all of these really have facilities, you know, that really allow people to have access to things they need. But of course, you know, it's not right in their little house. Next slide. Now, this one is, these are, you know, houses that small houses that were modular in design and construction in Japan called Komatsu houses. And they were used in the tsunami that had hit Japan many years ago. And then now they're being brought back, you know, to Hawaii to make Kahawiki Village, which is a village of, it's going to be about 144 units of housing on this a lot near San Island as well. Dwayne Kurisu has gathered a team together to develop it. And we are doing the management of activities for the families there and coordinating, you know, a lot of the different other organizations that come in to do service. But that's been, you know, there for about a couple of years now, and it's been a thriving community and people are really getting to understand what it means to be a part of a community. Next slide. So that's all my slides actually, but it was a segue into having Jane speak a little bit about what's happening out in Waianae. I think they are really done a fantastic job, you know, bringing people together and challenging them to actually come up with their students and be a part of this into their houses. So, Jane's Parkele. So anyway, you know, we fall under a little bit of a different circumstance because we already have the community. I'm not sure if everybody knows, but, you know, right next to Waianae, Boat Harbor is a whole new Waianae, which is a community of about 250 people. And the community's been there for over a decade. And so, you know, they've been able to build this community structure. And, you know, it's something that we've really, to us, that's the gem of the whole thing, right? It's a community. And so we've come up with this idea of, you know, community first, where, you know, they've been able to build this community without any structures. And so, you know, we're coming in with these, you know, the tiny home idea, you know, kind of after the fact and after the community has been built. But, you know, that's kind of a benefit to us because we're able to develop with that lived experience and the experience of, you know, this community has been thriving for like over a decade. I don't know if you guys want to go to the slides. Yeah. So, okay. That's just the intro side. Let's go to the next one. The way that the community is broken down now, it's into several sections. I think there's about between 10 and 12 sections. And each section has a leader. Each section is comprised of about 25 people. And so, you know, they have structured leadership meetings that, you know, occur every Monday and weekly. And it depends on, you know, what each section, you know, as the invest, they have, you know, weekly meetings within their sections. They have activities within their sections. You know, if there's any disagreements or whatever, you know, any questions, anybody need help, they go, you know, within their section or within their section leader. And, you know, anything that has to go above then, you know, then they're going to see Twinkle. Okay, next slide. You know, one of the things that Twinkle has done is, you know, implement this thing where everybody is required to give a certain amount of community service hours every month. Every adult that lives there is required to do community service. And that can, you know, be either, you know, as you see her planting, planting stuff in the mall, using a C1 individual outside at, you know, at one point, the park next door, the person that serviced the park, the city county worker, she retired. And so, you know, they would go across and, you know, cut the grass. You know, they started this bathroom brigade. It's the beginning of COVID. And even before that, you know, they were, they were helping to, you know, stop the bathrooms, keep the bathrooms clean. They know the village, you know, the village uses the bathroom. So they kind of take it cool. And they have, you know, donation tent went in where they, you know, they bring in donations, people can come in, people in the village and people from, you know, an outside community, because just because they're not, you know, houseless and living, you know, in the village doesn't mean that people aren't struggling. So, you know, they really kind of open the donation area. And so, you know, part of community service is people, you know, kind of staffing and, you know, bringing in the donations, going through them and things like that. And, you know, it's really, you know, Twinkle says, you know, he gives somebody a little bit of Kuliana and it wakes them up right up. You know what I mean? Makes them feel good. And so, it's not only within the village, but they also do outreach to, you know, houses and camels across the island. And so, you know, they take, they do feedings, you know, they take, they pack up, you know, like hygiene and stuff like that. They go out and a lot of people, you know, a lot of times when they go out and they meet with, you know, different camels from Wahiawa to Crane Park to Diamond Head, Waimanalo, all across the island. When they go out, you know, they kind of meet people and it's, the people are kind of surprised, you know, they ask like, you know, what church he gets from, what organization? They're like, no, we house is just like you guys, you know, but we've been so blessed that, you know, they want to share the blessing with others. And so, you know, that community building really extends beyond, you know, their village. And, you know, it's really been a catalyst for, you know, folks in Kakaako and Waimanalo to, you know, kind of realize and go, wow, you know, these guys, they are where we are, and they've done all of these things. And it's really been, you know, real motivation to, you know, have them step up and, you know, try to get to, you know, to the next level on yourselves kind of place to this. Okay. This is a rendering. So, you know, in 2018, the state started talking about sweeping the village and there was this whole big, you know, we ended a meeting with the governor. We asked, you know, we said, hey, just give us time to keep our community together. Right. We understand, you know, we understand we're on state land. But, you know, we value our community and this community has been together for over 10 years. We'll move on our own on our, you know, just give us the time to organize that. And so, you know, I'm grateful. He agreed to give us the time and since then, you know, we've raised about a million and a half dollars and purchased a 28-acre property of land up in Waianae Valley. And so we're currently, you know, in the process of preparing that land to relocate 250 people. You know, as much as much of them as they want to come up to this new property. And, you know, this time we kind of see, you know, it's some of the benefits and I think, you know, Kani kind of touched on someone else. You know, communal bathrooms, communal kitchens, if you ever try to build a house, you know, you understand that, you know, all the money goes into bathrooms and kitchens. And so anytime you have to deal with a lot of people, you know, you kind of go to this communal thing. And it's not something, you know, that's new, right. We did it in the job court. They do it in the military. They do it in the prison. They do it, you know, college dorms. You know, but they've also done it, you know, Hawaiians historically have lived that way for centuries, centuries. You know, so we kind of look back and say, oh, you know, how did these guys do it? And, you know, that's kind of what it is. So what that does is it really brings down the cost of development. You know, having that community there really brings down the cost of operations. You know, there was this one in Kona, I think, and one of their biggest costs were running security. You know, we don't have that cost. Our people run their own security. You know, we don't have a cost for groundskeepers. Our people run their, you know, it's the village residents that have that, you know, community service time that actually, you know, take care of the landscaping, you know, groundskeeping and, you know, kind of anything else that we need. So it keeps the development cost down and it keeps the operations cost down. And just, you know, reiterating the idea of, you know, community first, where, you know, these guys have been able to build a community even without structures. And so, you know, at the end of the day, you know, structures will be nice because, you know, if you're staying out there in tents, people that don't, you know, that don't live that way don't understand. But, you know, it's things like when it rains, a lot of times you have kids and, you know, people that work and they have to stay up all night and push out the pockets of water. And if they don't do that, then the water builds up and collapses and gets everything they own wet. So, you know, it's things like that that make, you know, it's these solid structures, really a benefit for the community. And we're trying to get away from, you know, from having to deal with that type of thing. You know, winds come through, they wreck the tents, everybody has, you know, they have to buy it all over the tent and stuff like that. So, but, you know, the focus here is on the community and the value of the community. Well, you know, as an individual person and, you know, as keeping cost onto it. Hope I blaze to that fast enough. Okay. That's it, James. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much. You know, what you're reminding me of is there was a famous psychologist, James Maslow, and he structured a hierarchy of needs. And at the very bottom was the need for shelter. And I think you're kind of turning this around and you're saying before you need shelter, you need a sense of community, because a lot of these people are coming from very insecure, very unstable environments, and you're providing stability, a sense of community, and security. First you take care of that, and then you take care of the housing. That's a very remarkable concept, but I think it makes a total sense to me. And, you know, having a community has actually been a benefit. You know, a lot of times when people, you know, develop projects like this, they don't have the input of, you know, community, they don't know how people are going to use it. So, you know, we're able to tap that resource and, you know, see how they've been living and how they're going to use it and, you know, actually design and develop, you know. Yeah. For that, you know. I think what I love about what James is saying is that the values that the community, the experience of community creates is actually what creates a healthy community, period, you know, and the possibility of people really living together well. Because, you know, if you don't have this mutual commitment, you know, because I think our communities, you know, some of the ways that people in the United States grows, you know, you're always thinking about what you want, you know, as an individual. So, there's a real strong individualism that, you know, basically creates this need for your own, or that, or like you were talking about how we're extra space for your house. When actually, you know, there's so many things that can be shared, you know, if people, like if you look in all of our garages, you know, and how we have all these peoples, it's like usually you can share those things, you know, with your neighbors. And I think when we can discover that kind of sharing and mutualism, I think that we're better for it. And I think that's a part of what Alona is in a way, you know, and I think we're trying to reclaim that these days, you know, in Hawaii also. You know, that brings up another takeaway that I'm getting from this. You are not just providing shelter, not just providing community for people, but you are training them for life. You are training them to be responsible citizens and to give. And giving is a lot more gratifying than taking. Yeah, and just like that kind of structure. Right. So what James was talking about, how they require a certain amount of, you know, hours of work that everybody has Kalyana, everybody has their role. I think it's really important. It gives people a sense of pride, it gives people a sense of belonging, you know, when you're a part of that way. I was really impressed by James's description of the residents going out to other houseless areas and saying, how can we help you here have some stuff? These are not rich people at all that they want to give. You know, a lot of that work has really been, you know, led by this group, and what they've been doing is kind of, you know, trying to take notes from Twinkle and see what she's done. And, you know, going out and, you know, trying to say replicating, you know, but kind of share that vision, you know, the idea, and getting communities together, you know, typically, you know, they like to do, you know, sweeps and stuff, which really scatter everybody all over the place. And this idea is, you know, suddenly, yeah, you dropped a bunch of rice on the table, right? And, you know, if you wanted to take care of it, you kind of, you know, scoop it up and you take care of it. Good analogy. Yeah. Yeah. What you don't do is blow it all over the table and then pick it up one by one. So, you know, it's really been trying to, you know, build these communities. And I think they've been really, you know, really successful. Some of the folks from, you know, Kakaako have ended up at Halemau Leola, you know, super grateful that, you know, Kani kind of really went over backwards, you know, trying to make that happen. And, you know, even, you know, folks in Waimanalo, you know, people at Cream Park, you know, you can take care of your area. You know, even if you don't have houses, you know, you can still hold Juliano. Waimanalo beach park, the folks, you know, started cleaning up, you know, the beach park and stuff like that and kind of really taking it on themselves. So they go, you know, we live here, you know, we need to take care of it. You know, and then also, you know, just sharing that, you know, look at where this houses community has gone. You know, if you guys just, you know, get together, carry some Juliano, you know, get together and form this community, you guys can get further, you know, together than you can individually. And, you know, I think the latest statistic I saw with regard to houseless was an estimate, believe this is statewide of around 4,000 individuals, and you're talking about housing 150 people here, 250 people there. You're taking a big bite out of that existing community. So the end is in sight. We build several more of these shelters, and people are no longer needing to be homeless. But remember, Howard, those numbers are not static, you know, and there are people that are really threatened with homelessness because of the way that our, well, the way that our economy is right now, but even before COVID, you know, people are really struggling, you know, they don't make enough money, you know, to be able to pay for the traditional kinds of housing that is available. I think, you know, I love that you, you know, as part of the building council has really tried to help us start talking more about these tiny homes, really see the value, you know, of these as alternative ways of living together. And James, you know, just doing it, you know, I mean, I feel like they're really rocking it out there. So I think we can definitely help each other. As James was saying, you know, we are Loha, they worked a lot with them out there, have also worked with us at Halima, I think we're all learning from each other, which is really, you know, the way it's supposed to be, I think. Beautiful. You know, we've only got about a minute left and something I really want to point out is that this program is being recorded and Haley, our logistics person, will be putting this will be archiving this so that this is accessible. And are you both of your people's email address or phone numbers on the slides? No, I don't believe so, but you can put it out in there. So if anybody, you know, wants to reach me, you know, they can reach me at Connie at IHS Hawaii dot org and James. Yeah, we have our website on the slides is the www.aloha-lives-here.org and that's really our fundraising website, but it's also got, you know, contact. I think there's a contact form on there as well. So if, you know, people want to get in touch with us or whatever, they can fill it out there or, you know, and James Pakele at DCS Hawaii dot org. So Can you repeat that more slowly, James? DCS Hawaii dot org. Yeah, okay. And you would like to be contacted. I'm sure there's many people who are incredibly impressed with your work here and see, this gives us a real ray of hope. So I believe our time is up and I want to thank James and Connie so much and thank you for the wonderful, wonderful work you're doing and keep it up. And I hope this program results in more support for you. So with that cheery note, that very, very cheery and hopeful note, I say goodbye for Think Tech Hawaii, Howard Wigg. See you soon. And again, thank you so much, Connie and James.