HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – After the state Legislature cut $8 million in funding for medical respite centers that serve homeless patients, local leaders say they are looking for funding to keep the facilities open.
The funding is set to expire at the end of June, but without it, dozens of medically vulnerable homeless people could end up back on the streets, leaders say.
Dr. Jim Ireland, director of Honolulu Emergency Medical Services, said the city is looking for funding to maintain current operations, but the cuts could halt expansion plans.
“We’re doing everything we can on the city side,” Ireland said, noting that his team is considering funding the city’s Homeless Outreach and Navigation for Unsheltered Persons (HONU) program, which is a respite center and mobile triage and shelter site.
“This definitely puts an end to any expansion plans we had, but at least we’re working hard through city funding to keep what we have open,” Ireland said.
Local leaders say the medical respite center has saved taxpayers millions of dollars and eased the strain on Hawaii’s health care system by diverting homeless patients from emergency rooms and connecting them directly to care.
They also say more centers are needed.
Dr. Scott Miscovich, who operates Arla Respite on North King Street, said he estimates there are hundreds more respite beds available on Oahu.
“When you start taking seriously mentally ill people and drug addicts off the streets, they need a place where they can get treatment. So if we’re really going to make a difference, we need to scale this up significantly,” Miscovich said.
Under a new law that went into effect this year, crisis teams will be able to remove mentally ill homeless people from the streets and provide them with medication. Ireland said the program, known as MH-3, would only work if teams had a place to care for people.
“There are a number of people that we did three tests on MH-3, and there are a few of them, because the people who had access decided they were OK everywhere they went. But they weren’t OK, so they went back to the city and started running through the city naked, eating food out of trash cans, threatening other people,” Ireland said. “Residents and visitors alike have the right to feel safe in their neighborhoods.”
Spill the Tea Cafe is a Kakaako-based nonprofit organization that supports Hawaii’s LGBTQ youth with lifesaving mental health care.
Founder and director Haylin Dennison said the organization was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic and is focused on suicide prevention.
“This year we saw 15 children die in 2026,” she said. “We want our children to thrive and take ownership of their future. We are creating a space where children feel seen and heard long before a crisis occurs.”
Spill the Tea Cafe serves nearly 800 children and families, including children as young as 6 years old. The organization recently moved to a larger space on Waimanu Street, offering access to non-clinical groups and clinicians, including activities like Dungeons & Dragons.
“Kids don’t just get referred and come to therapy and get better. We understand that if we were to put them back in the same environment, that’s not realistic,” Dennison said.
“Care coordinators and team leaders touch every aspect of their lives, so whether it’s school that they’re having trouble with, or building a resume, it could be independent living skills,” Dennison said. “For all of these things, our MSW (Master of Social Work) interns are trained very rigorously to make sure the kids don’t fail. It takes not only therapy, but a real connection with the whole team and the adults.”
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