Hawaii Delegation Visits Houston to Learn from “Exemplary” Homeless Response System
Communications Admin • June 12, 2017
On May 16 and 17, a delegation from Hawaii visited Houston to meet with the Coalition for the Homeless and other partners of The Way Home
to learn more about effective leadership strategies in the effort to solve homelessness.
Last year Hawaii declared a state of emergency around homelessness according to the National Governors Association
(NGA), which has been providing Technical Assistance to Hawaii. Although that status has been lifted, the state is still working to revamp its homeless response system.
The group from Hawaii included Marc Alexander (City and County of Honolulu, Office of Housing), Brandee Menino (Hope Services Hawaii, Inc.), Scott Morishige (office of the Governor, Hawaii), and Natalie Okeson (Phocused). Flora Arabo and Akeiisa Coleman, Senior Policy Analysts with the NGA also traveled with the delegation. When the group was asked about what they hoped to learn, Brandee Menino (CEO, Hope Services Hawaii) shared that she wanted to learn more from the Coalition about governance, sustainability, and a better way to build capacity for the homeless service providers in Hawaii.
The Coalition for the Homeless serves as lead agency for The Way Home, the collaborative model to prevent and end homelessness in Houston, Pasadena, Conroe; and Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery Counties. Comprising more than 100 partners from the nonprofit, government, and private sectors, The Way Home is leading the nation in reducing homelessness through a Housing First approach: placing homeless individuals and families into permanent housing as quickly as possible and then providing them with the supportive services they need to remain stably housed.
The Coalition provides leadership to The Way Home by providing staffing for workgroup and other committee meetings, working on coordination and implementation of programs and services, acting as the collaborative applicant for the annual Continuum of Care (CoC)
funding process, and by facilitating trainings, education, and Technical Assistance for direct service providers so they can increase their capacity and serve more homeless individuals in the most effective way possible.
In the Houston area, The Way Home is the local CoC. Throughout the United States, CoCs are often regional and centered around major metropolitan areas. Rural areas of each state are consolidated into what are known as “Balance of State CoCs.” The state of Hawaii has to CoCs: Partners in Care, which is the alliance leading Oahu’s CoC; and Bridging the Gap, which provides leadership to the rural counties and small islands.
On the first afternoon of the trip, the group toured two local Permanent Supportive Housing sites: New Hope Housing's Canal Street Apartments, and The Women’s Home's Adele and Ber Piper Family Place. While there, the group learned more about what goes into running a successful housing program Staff from both organizations shared information on a broad range of topics, from the planning and building process to daily operations and supporting success in permanent housing.
The second day focused on panel discussions with Coalition staff, members of The Way Home’s Steering Committee, and partner organizations including: City of Houston Housing and Community Development Department, CSH, Harris County Community Services Department, and more.
NGA, which funded this trip as part of their Technical Assistance, shared, “Houston is considered a model homeless response system across the country; with strong data systems and governance, as well as systems that spend dollars as effectively as possible. The NGA funded this trip to Houston so key team members from Hawaii could meet their Houston counterparts and get a hands-on look at how to operate an exemplary Continuum of Care.”
The work that the Coalition for the Homeless has led and worked on with more than 100 local partners has been incredibly successful. Sharing best practices with other regions like Hawaii can help solve homelessness not just locally but across the country – which is the ultimate goal.
Houston, Texas (February 24, 2026) – This week, the nonprofit Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County (CFTH) is leading the annual Point-in-Time Homeless Count & Survey (“PIT Count”) to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness across Houston and throughout Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties. “We may see a slight uptick in the number this year, but we have a plan,” said Kelly Young, President & CEO of CFTH. “With the support of the City of Houston, Harris County, and private funders, we have been piloting new interventions to shorten the length of time people in our region experience homelessness. With adequate funding, we look forward to expanding those interventions to help people regain lives of self-determination.” CFTH coordinates the Houston region’s public-private homeless response system, The Way Home . Through this collaboration, The Way Home partners have successfully housed over 36,000 people since 2012. CFTH will release the results of Houston’s 2026 PIT Count in the summer, following independent verification by an epidemiologist. These findings will provide insight into how factors such as increases in the cost of living and the end of federal pandemic relief funding have impacted homelessness in our region. More information about the 2026 Point-in-Time Homeless Count & Survey The PIT Count offers a snapshot of how many people are experiencing homelessness in our region on a single night. This year, the “night of record” is Monday, Feb. 23. CFTH determines the number of people staying in shelters on that night by pulling records electronically from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) . The unsheltered count will be conducted on the following days, from Tuesday, Feb. 24 to Thursday, Feb. 26. More than 400 volunteers and staff of local nonprofit service provider partners will canvass the three-county region to survey people living unsheltered, using an app on their mobile devices. Results from the 2026 PIT Count will help gauge the progress of The Way Home’s ongoing collaborative efforts. It will also help CFTH and partner homeless outreach teams understand geographic shifts and target their outreach throughout the year. The PIT Count illuminates specific programmatic gaps and provides additional information needed to allocate resources most efficiently. The PIT Count is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) for the annual Continuum of Care (CoC) funding process. HUD furnishes the majority of funding for programs that provide housing and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness in the region. In 2024, HUD granted more than $71 million to the Houston area.
As lead agency to The Way Home Continuum of Care (CoC), CFTH is working with local governmental entities to advocate on behalf of people experiencing homelessness to ensure their needs are being considered as winter weather affects our region. We will make frequent updates as we receive information. Please check back often for the latest information. Last updated 02/01/2026 at 12:00 p.m.
While our system has helped thousands of people move from homelessness to housing, this year’s results highlight the need to broaden our approach.
