State bill would fund three-year homelessness sanctuary pilot for women, young children

SB 2563 would establish a three-year homelessness sanctuary pilot program to create safe, low-barrier spaces where unhoused women and children could live and receive services, and the state’s homeless coordinator, Jun Yang, is slated to administer the effort. The bill, described in legislative reporting from Feb. 20, 2026, pairs security and case management with on-site bathroom and laundry services as part of the pilot’s core offerings.

Under the program language reported so far, people could live in vehicles or in communal tents on designated lands and access the stated services. One summary of the bill says the pilot would allow living on city, state, federal or private land and explicitly notes pets would be permitted, while another description frames the sites as “government-sanctioned land.” Reporting also contains a discrepancy on age eligibility - one account describes the program for “young children (under age 10),” while another says it would apply to children under age 18. The bill text will need to be consulted to resolve the conflicting age cutoff.

House action has already stalled for a companion measure. Rep. Garner Shimizu, who introduced House Bill 2509 representing Moanalua-Aliamanu-Foster Village, led a bipartisan group of cosponsors - three other House Republicans and two Democrats - but the House bill did not survive the legislative deadline to remain alive. Shimizu defended the proposal’s intention, saying, “It’s not a place to hang out and attempt to live there. It’s a place to get some help.” After the House bill failed to advance, Shimizu added, “I have a heart for the homeless and I will commit to helping as much as I can. How we care for them is a great reflection of who we are as people.”

Jun Yang would administer SB 2563 and has urged consideration of existing alternatives for people living in vehicles or tents, saying the state’s expanding kauhale initiative or the city’s pop-up HONU program might be more appropriate for some residents. Officials have projected a total of 30 kauhale are expected to be open by the end of the year, a benchmark Yang cited when discussing program fit.

Key implementation details remain unresolved in the reporting to date. The publicly summarized excerpts do not provide appropriation amounts, the bill’s precise language on allowable land types and landowner consent, operational rules for pets, who would provide or fund security, how case management would be contracted, or specific sanitary standards for bathrooms and laundry. As of Feb. 20, 2026, SB 2563 was under consideration at the Legislature; the age eligibility and private-land authorization are among the primary items that must be clarified in the bill text and by agency officials before any pilot sites move forward.

A photo used in recent coverage shows a woman sleeping on River Street in Honolulu on Jan. 26, 2026, underscoring the visible urgency behind lawmakers’ push for new shelter and sanctuary options.