Hawaii bill would protect shelters that house homeless minors

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A newly passed bill before Gov. Josh Green would protect homeless shelters that take in minors without the consent of their parents or guardians.

The latest version of House Bill 470 has been years in the making to help minors avoid life on the street where they can become prey to sexual assault and other violence, or entered into the foster care system against their will.

State Rep. Amy Perruso (D, Wahiawa-Whitmore

Village-Mokuleia) helped introduce this year's bill and knows firsthand that public perception of a family's life can hide a darker reality.

As a resident adviser at the University of Southern California, Perruso let her 16-year-old brother sleep on her dorm room couch despite campus rules after he fled their abusive father.

"I was jeopardizing my scholarship and my R.A.

position because my father was abusive and violent," Perruso said. "My brother didn't have any other options because my dad made sure we didn't have any relationships with my mom's family. So my brother couldn't go to my grandmother or my aunts because they believed what my dad said. Families can be a big, toxic mess."

Later, as a Hawaii public school teacher for 20 years — especially at Mililani High School — Perruso was required to report suspicions of child abuse and repeatedly offered to take in abused

students herself rather than have them placed into foster care.

"My community understands the foster care system is broken," she said. "Even in that very affluent community, there were struggles with poverty and parental abuse. No child leaves a home if they feel safe and protected."

Like homeless adults, minors have myriad reasons for not having a permanent home, including neglect, violence and being rejected for their sexual preferences.

"It's not like their parents took their phone away," said state Rep. Adrian Tam (D, Waikiki), one of the key legislators who has continued to push to protect organizations that shelter minors.

The latest version of

HB 470 followed a pilot program to indemnify youth operations that take in homeless minors without consent from their parents or guardians.

The pilot project expired in June, and organizations have been operating without the protection of the state ever since.

HB 470 would protect shelters "that are not in

line with HUD (U.S. Housing and Urban Development) standards" for another five years, Tam said. "They run the risk of liability, so we gave shelters time to get in line with HUD standards."

There are no hard numbers of how many minors are homeless in Hawaii or how many organizations take them in.

But testimony over

HB 470 suggested that children of color and those that identify as LGBTQ+ are disproportionately homeless.

Since the pilot program ended, in nearly a year since, organizations "have had to deny many minors shelter," Tam said. "Youth homelessness has gone up because of that."

Carla Houser, executive director of RYSE (Residential Youth Services &

Empowerment), wrote in support of HB 470 that before the pilot program expired, RYSE and similar organizations "were able to create a safe place for these vulnerable

minors to sleep and connect with trusted adults before they were targeted for trafficking, physical abuse, or prolonged exposure to the trauma associated with living unsheltered. Unaccompanied minors who lived at RYSE were connected back to education ... (and) Youth who needed additional substance abuse and mental health resources were provided support through skilled and licensed clinicians."

In a statement to the

Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Monday, Houser wrote in an email, "After years of tireless advocacy, the House agreement and passage of House Bill 470 feels like a beacon of hope for Hawaii's homeless youth. It's an emotional victory, knowing that emergency shelters like RYSE may become a resource to provide immediate refuge and support to minors in need. This bill represents not just a legal milestone, but a profound validation of our relentless efforts to ensure that every young person has the right to safe shelter. Our hearts are filled with determination as we continue our mission to empower these vulnerable youth towards brighter futures."

When he was in the Legislature, former state Rep. John Mizuno in 2023 teamed up with Tam and Rep. David Tarnas (D, Hawi-Waimea-

Waikoloa) in introducing

HB 470's unsuccessful

predecessor.

Now as the state's homeless coordinator, Mizuno hopes Green's signature on HB 470 will help minors with limited options get housed and protected.

"I'm a Christian and I'm

all about parental rights," Mizuno said. "But we need to get him or her into a shelter or kauhale, no questions asked, and eventually get them back into a home. To be left on the streets to have minors sex-trafficked, that's unconscionable and very dangerous. A shelter versus homeless on the street? It's

a slam dunk."

"We continue to say homelessness is one of the biggest issues that faces the state," Mizuno said. "What are we going to do for people that are young? I'm really hoping this will do some good."

Melissa Pavlicek helped oversee support for HB 470 on behalf of the Opportunity Youth Action Hawaii hui, which includes RYSE, the Partners in Development Foundation and Kina'i Eha.

Some minors from troubled homes who go into foster care end up homeless because they're escaping problems in foster care, Pavlicek said.

Without the protections in HB 470, she said, "there is no real system for youth who show up at a shelter, other than to be turned over to the system. It's very heartbreaking."

For now, Perruso said, "these kids are really on their own."

When the issue of parental rights has come up, Perruso has told her House colleagues, "I just don't have a lot of patience for that. With rights come responsibilities."

"There are terrible humans in the world," Perruso told the Star-Advertiser.