Here's a startling truth: if you're homeless and living on the beach, you don't rate priority status for public housing. In fact, your wait can be extended for years.

While the situation is dire, the beach homeless just don't meet the state's public housing regulation that defines them as an "unsheltered" homeless person. To receive priority, the rules require that you be housed in a transitional shelter.

But some of the shelters are crowded, forcing many onto the beach. Others choose not to go to the shelters because of the strict regimentation.

Those living on the beach, however, are indeed part of the homeless population.

The transitional requirement, which is part of a state public housing regulation, needs to be changed.

A story by The Advertiser's Rob Perez first exposed the problem. Now Linda Smith, senior policy adviser to Gov. Linda Lingle, said the Hawai'i Public Housing Authority's board of directors is considering eliminating the advantage that's currently given to those in transitional housing, as long as any recipient was working with social workers and taking life skills classes.

The policy change, which could be adopted later this month, sounds fair. All homeless would be given equal status, and social service programs are still required. But it does create another problem.

The change would put all the homeless on the same waiting list of 12,000 names, with housing awarded on a first-come-first-served basis.

Let's take it a step further.

To effectively reduce the homeless population, the state must focus on increasing the affordable housing supply to reduce the demand.

The state must be aggressive in seeking partnerships to build more affordable units. It must also fix the more than 700 units of public housing that remain vacant, and shorten the more than 300 day turnaround time that it takes to make a unit available. That might mean adding more staff to the HPHA.

A rule change that eliminates tiers of homelessness is good. But more permanent housing is the answer.