Roy Miyahira and Jun Yang have just stepped almost simultaneously into a pivotal moment in the landscape of homelessness in Hawaiʻi. Each is the third person to hold their position in as many years.
That may be where their obvious similarities end.
Miyahira came out of private sector retirement with no experience in homelessness services to become director of homeless solutions for the City and County of Honolulu. Yang moved from homeless coordinator for Hawaiʻi’s Department of Transportation to become director of the state Office of Homelessness and Housing Solutions.
With two-thirds of Hawaiʻi’s homeless population living on Oʻahu, their success or failure will inevitably be intertwined. And for each, the road ahead is threaded with uncertainty…