HR 93: urging the university of hawaii to implement a homeless STUDENT stability and housing resource program to address the issue of housing instability.

HOUSE RESOLUTION

urging the university of hawaii to implement a homeless STUDENT stability and housing resource program to address the issue of housing instability.

     WHEREAS, post-secondary students should be able to access resources that help them meet their basic needs; and

     WHEREAS, basic needs are defined as access to stable housing, food, and healthcare services; and

     WHEREAS, a poll conducted by The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice for the University of Hawaii Basic Needs Committee in Fall 2020 found that fifty-eight percent of students enrolled at one or more of the ten University of Hawaii post-secondary institutions faced at least one form of basic needs insecurity (BNI); and

     WHEREAS, of the three types of BNI studied, forty-four percent of students experienced housing insecurity, fourteen percent experienced homelessness, and thirty-nine percent experienced food insecurity; and

     WHEREAS, the same study found that only fifteen percent of students experiencing BNI received emergency aid; and

     WHEREAS, of the eighty-five percent of students that did not receive aid, seventy-eight percent did not think they would be eligible and fifty-eight percent of students polled did not know the program existed or how to apply; and

     WHEREAS, student mental health stability and support is a priority component of healthcare services impacting a significant percent of students; and

     WHEREAS, the recommended standard ratio of mental health practitioners to students is one mental health practitioner to one thousand to one thousand five hundred students; and

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Manoa currently staffs a total of 0.5 full-time equivalent psychiatrists and 4.5 full-time equivalent psychologists with a student population of 20,048, for a ratio of one staff position to four thousand ten students; and

     WHEREAS, the conditions contributing to basic needs insecurity have primarily worsened since the 2020 Hope Center study was conducted; and

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii Basic Needs Committee is currently conducting a study to assess the rates of BNI amongst the current student body; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the University of Hawaii is urged to implement a homeless student stability and housing resource program to address the issue of housing instability; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii is requested to utilize the results of the 2025 survey being conducted by the University of Hawaii Basic Needs Committee to develop a plan to address basic needs insecurity within the student population, strengthen mental health services, and increase awareness of, and access to, resources and support; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii and President of the University of Hawaii.

Report Title: 

University of Hawaii; Homeless Students; Housing Program; Mental Health

STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1572

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

RE:   H.R. No. 93

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

     Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred H.R. No. 93 entitled:

"HOUSE RESOLUTION URGING THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII TO IMPLEMENT A HOMELESS STUDENT STABILITY AND HOUSING RESOURCE PROGRAM TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF HOUSING INSTABILITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to urge the University of Hawaii to implement a homeless student stability and housing resource program to address the issue of housing instability.

     Your Committee received comments on this measure from the University of Hawaiʻi System.

     Your Committee finds that post-secondary students should be able to access resources that help them meet their basic needs, including stable housing, food, and healthcare services.  Your Committee further finds that a poll conducted by The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice for the University of Hawaii Basic Needs Committee in Fall 2020 found that forty-four percent of students experienced housing insecurity and fourteen percent experienced homelessness.  Your Committee believes that the implementation of a homeless student stability and housing resource program for post-secondary students will create a more just and accessible system of higher education in the State.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.R. No. 93 and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Housing.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Higher Education,