The state's Next Step shelter in Kaka'ako is turning homeless people away almost nightly, even though it has room for about 160 people, because officials don't want to fill up the facility while its future is unclear.

The state stopped admitting new people, except in emergencies, to the shelter in September, in preparation for a move that never happened because of a lack of funding.

Now, state officials are trying to find a new site for Next Step before the Office of Hawaiian Affairs needs the property sometime next year.

And they say starting admissions again at Next Step would be counterproductive.

"We're trying to move out of there," said state Comptroller Russ Saito, the governor's special adviser on homelessness. "We're looking at the possibilities."

But some homeless advocates say with no immediate plans to move, the state should reopen Next Step, given the continuing need for shelter space in Honolulu.

Though the homeless problem islandwide has been eased by new state-funded and private shelters on the Wai'anae Coast and more money flowing in to place people in housing, many homeless people are still in need, they say.

Just yesterday, state Transportation Department crews cleared out homeless encampments on a 28-acre parcel under the Ke'ehi interchange and in nearby spots. The sweep forced more than 50 homeless people, all couples or singles, to move on.

Three of the couples were offered space at Next Step because it was an emergency, officials said, but it's unclear whether they accepted the offer.

Utu Langi, whose nonprofit manages Next Step for the state, said one or more people call daily asking for a spot in the shelter or even show up at its doorstep at night trying to get in.

"I'm hoping they ... open the intake process so we can utilize the space. The need is still great here," Langi said, adding that the shelter will be further emptied this week, when 14 families start moving into Puahala Homes.

The units at the public housing project will be used as a transitional homeless shelter for at least two years.

The families total about 40 people, which will drop the numbers at the Next Step warehouse to about 100, Langi said. That is one-third of the shelter's 300-person capacity.

FEW OPTIONS AVAILABLE

Advocates point out that Next Step is one of few options for the homeless in the urban core. The Institute for Human Services operates the only other large emergency shelter in Honolulu, housing and providing services for women and families on Ka'aahi Street in Kalihi and men in a shelter off Nimitz Highway in Iwilei.

Frequently in the past several years, the IHS shelter for families and women has been so full it has had to turn people away.

But that's not the case right now, thanks in part to increased capacity, said Kate Bepko, spokeswoman for IHS. There is space for about two families at the shelter and as many as 30 women. Capacity at the men's shelter is about 220, but there are only about 140 men at the shelter currently.

Bepko said because IHS has space, the nonprofit is not opposing the state's decision to keep Next Step at current levels.

"They (Next Step personnel) are working hard to transition people," she added. "We're supportive of that."

Doran Porter, the executive director of the Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance, whose contract to oversee operations at Next Step ended yesterday, said he would like to see the state start admitting new homeless into the shelter and doesn't see why the anticipated move would preclude reopening admissions.

He added that when he worked for Next Step, he got at least five calls a week from people seeking space at the shelter.

"I hate to see anybody in the street," he said. "It's a better option for them to be in the shelter."

He also said that although the warehouse is not ideal, at least social workers are able to get people services there.

"It's much harder for outreach workers to track people on the streets," he said.

Porter said it's unclear why there is space at IHS, when homeless families are calling Next Step to try to get in.

But he said it could be because IHS has a negative reputation among some because of maintenance concerns. IHS has recently completed some repairs, however, of its shelter for women and families, and is in the midst of a project to refurbish its men's shelter.

Saito said the state's policy has been to allow new people into Next Step only when it would be cruel not to, such as a mother with a young child or an elderly person with medical needs.

Officials could not provide statistics on how many people have been admitted since September, but said it was little more than a handful.

HASTY BEGINNINGS

Next Step was hastily opened in May 2006 in a Forrest Avenue warehouse to accommodate about 200 people who had been living at Ala Moana Beach Park until the city instituted new rules that closed the park at night.

The warehouse quickly reached its capacity of 300, sleeping families and singles on beds separated by cardboard cubicles. Saito said the original plan had Next Step closing in six months.

But the state quickly realized that those at the shelter couldn't be placed in permanent housing so quickly.

So last year, after successfully opening several shelters on the Wai'anae Coast and elsewhere, the governor asked lawmakers for $20 million for a permanent homeless shelter in the urban core to replace Next Step.

But lawmakers declined to fund it, saying they needed more details.

The state was still trying to find a site for the shelter when the funding fell through.

Now, Saito said, the state is back to "square one" — with all of the proposed locations for the permanent urban shelter off the table since they would have required significant capital improvements funding.

He said state homeless officials are searching for a new home for Next Step, but have no definite leads yet.

He also said it's unclear when the shelter will move.

In the meantime, the shelter has a month-to-month lease for its warehouse from the Hawai'i Community Development Authority, which has promised the space to OHA for its new headquarters.

"We're scrambling," Saito said. "It's a real challenge."

Darlene Hein, of the Waikiki Health Center, which does intake services for the Next Step shelter, said those who come looking for a spot at Next Step are helped in other ways, such as with referrals to other programs or with help signing up to get on waiting lists for public housing or transitional homeless shelters.

She said Next Step is "not the greatest" facility, and not only because it's in a warehouse. She pointed out the shelter doesn't have services during the day, which means its residents get minimal social work help at night.

But, she added, the need is high and the empty beds at the shelter could be quickly filled if the state decides to start up admissions again.

"There is never enough shelter space," she said.