A new medical kauhale could be coming to Hilo, according to Gov. Josh Green.
The kauhale are tiny homes that can be used either as a permanent residence or as a temporary rehabilitation space for those receiving medical care as they transition back into the community.
“There’s a proposal that will go pretty quickly, I believe, for Hilo, which will be a restorative kauhale for people who have had addiction issues and who are coming down off of their drugs,” Green said during a livestream interview. “We’ll have some extra specialists there, people that are specialized in rehabilitation, people that are specialized in drug treatment, people who are specialized in helping people with trauma.”
Green noted the Hilo kauhale would be designed for a roughly three-month, temporary stay as individuals recover from addiction and receive treatment.
The concept for a medical kauhale in Hilo originally came from the Big Island Substance Abuse Council, or BISAC.
“He’s mentioned BISAC and the kauhale in Hilo, because we were the ones that proposed the idea,” said BISAC CEO Hannah Preston-Pita. “BISAC has been at the forefront of thinking a lot about how we can create a wellness kauhale, which would include the full spectrum of care for the vulnerable populations.”
Services would include rehabilitation and detox support, stabilization beds, residential treatment, and a full spectrum of care for those in recovery.
“My understanding is that we are both on the same page when it comes to the need for these kauhale, and we’re pretty excited about them talking about the prospect of us providing those services for the community,” Preston-Pita said.
“It seems viable. I can’t say that it’s confirmed, but (Green has) been saying it.”
Regardless of a potential partnership with the governor, BISAC plans to continue moving ahead with providing medical wellness kauhale for the community.
“No matter how we look at it, we’re moving forward,” Preston-Pita said. “The need is great right now in our community. We’re all headed in the right direction, but it’s good to get the buy-in of our governor, so that we can be a part of his plan.”
An official location has not been selected yet, but options have been proposed by BISAC.
“We’ve given some options for places in Hilo, so they’re working on that on their end,” Preston-Pita said of Green’s administration. “When it comes to funding for these types of things, I know that it’s been a big part of (Green’s) plan, to have kauhales on every island, so it seems very, very promising for BISAC to be one of them on this island.”
Green has not yet confirmed where the funding for the kauhale would come from.
A previous medical respite kauhale opened last month just outside the governor’s residence in the state Department of Health parking lot on Oahu.
Green noted additional kauhale could be coming to other Oahu locations.
“By embracing the idea of ‘yes, in my backyard,’ we have the power to create a more compassionate community that nurtures change from within,” Green said. “This project is going to go national, I believe over time, to deal with homelessness.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
