Dealing with the homelessness problem on the Wai'anae Coast will take progressive action from the state Legislature.

In a special series on the issue by Advertiser reporters Rob Perez and Will Hoover, beach residents say they want government "to re-evaluate" how it deals with problem of homelessness and affordable housing in the state.

The state must do more than re-evaluate. It must act in a much more aggressive way if it is to help the estimated 6,000 who are homeless in Hawai'i, as well as the growing numbers of working-class people who are just a paycheck away from being unable to afford the rent.

To do so will take a solid commitment. And it will require a new attitude at the state Capitol toward the value of affordable rental housing in the state.

For too long, the problem has been ignored. And the state acknowledges we're having to deal with that neglect today.

"We're playing a lot of catch-up," Linda Smith, the senior policy adviser to Governor Lingle told the Advertiser's editorial board. She said that in important key years the state was simply not aggressive enough, returning as much as $212 million in housing money to the general fund from 1995 to 2002.

The most obvious step that must be taken next legislative session is to make permanent the amount from the conveyance tax on real estate sales that is put into the state's Rental Housing Trust Fund. A Lingle proposal to give it 65 percent of the conveyance failed last session. We must see some progress on this front.

Building more rentals is the long-term answer. In the short term, the state will also need to devote millions more to rent subsidies that will keep people from becoming homeless.

Balancing short- and long-term needs, as well as forging partnerships with the military and private sectors, will be crucial to finding a meaningful solution.