The governor’s office will help YMCA residents facing huge rent hikes

The state Office of Homeless and Housing Solutions has vowed to make sure no tenants have to leave after the Honolulu Central YMCA announced it would end rental subsidies for eight long-term residents.

In an email to lawmakers and City Council members, John Mizuno — the governor’s coordinator for homelessness — wrote: “In light of a recent Civil Beat article “The YMCA of Honolulu is ending rental subsidies for long-term renters”… our office… will step in to help in this situation.”

Mizuno said the organization’s CEO, Greg Weibel, confirmed that no one will be displaced from the five-story building across the street from the upscale Ala Moana shopping center. Mizuno could not be reached for comment, but Lisa Ontay, vice president of marketing for the Honolulu YMCA, told Civil Beat that the state is going to take “immediate steps to take care of these guests.”

“We are here to help, support and help in any way we can,” Ontay said, adding that details are still being worked out.

In a Civil Beat article published early Wednesday, the YMCA said long-term residents paying $300 a month for a single room and shared bathroom will have to start paying the full published rate of $400 a week — or $1,600 a month plus tax – from November 1. That said there were no more funds continue to subsidize rent.

Suzanne Spencer, a resident who has lived at the Central YMCA since December 2019, said she is still troubled by the way the organization has treated residents, including giving them less than 45 days’ notice of a rent increase. According to her, some residents have already left.

Most of the eight long-term subsidized tenants came to the YMCA through Institute of Social Servicesa nonprofit that focuses on finding housing for the homeless, Ontay said.

According to IHS Executive Director Connie Mitchell, the YMCA was seen as temporary housing for people who came in from the streets. She said the institute used to pay its clients rent for the YMCA, but that program ended about nine years ago due to funding cuts.

Spencer, 57, has struggled to make ends meet with temporary work since suffering a traumatic brain injury in a car accident more than a decade ago. An affordable rate at the YMCA allowed her to live independently.

“I have nowhere to go,” she tearfully told Civil Beat during an interview on Tuesday.