Times are hard for charities, too

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

They're trying to keep up.

But Lanakila Meals on Wheels is short a few good men and women, and the Institute of Human Services is one overheated truck engine away from disaster.

Bobby Pagaduan, chief cook at Lanakila Center, takes the last of more than 40 turkeys out of the oven in preparation for Thanksgiving Day meals. Coordinators expect to serve about 1,200 senior citizens. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

With the state's economy hobbling in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, and with hundreds of Hawai'i families set to lose federal welfare benefits starting Dec. 1, local charities say they're thankful that the community continues to share its aloha as best it can.

But it's not enough.

Daniel DeCastro, community relations director for the Salvation Army, said the number of people coming in for food and emergency financial assistance has doubled since Sept. 11.

"What used to go out in a month is now going out in two weeks," he said. "We're trying to keep up, but we need more donations of money and food. We can only give as much as our resources allow, and right now it's very difficult."

The Salvation Army is one of several charitable organizations that will provide hot meals to the needy this Thanksgiving. As usual, there is no shortage of people willing to donate their time to serve meals.

"We've had to turn people down," DeCastro said. "We didn't want to do that, because people really want to help in some way, and that's one way for them to do that."

•	Whom to call for contributions • Aloha United Way 536-1951 • Hawai'i Food Bank 836-3600 • Institute of Human Services 537-2724 • Kau Kau Wagon 377-5789; 783-6352; 226-5866 • Lanakila Meals on Wheels 531-0555 • River of Life Mission 524-7656 • Waikiki Health Center 922-4787

"There are other places that are providing meals on Thanksgiving," Black said. "But people will be hungry again on Saturday."

Food, drivers needed

The Kau Kau Wagon also has an ample volunteer staff of servers. What they could use is more food for the 500 people expected to show up at the corner of Hotel and Bethel on Saturday afternoon.

"It's not a good time to be our friend," Black said. "We're calling everybody we know. No shame!"

The staff and volunteers at Lanakila Meals on Wheels started cooking their turkeys on Saturday. They expect to serve as many as 2,000 home-bound seniors tomorrow.

The program, which provides meals to some 1,750 people on 106 driving routes every day, has been hit hard by the U.S. military response in Afghanistan.

"A lot of military personnel were volunteering to deliver meals," said community relations coordinator Nettie Stillwell. "Now they're gone, or could be going, and we need help for Christmas."

Stillwell said she's also concerned about the impact the recent slate of layoffs in the tourism industry will have on Hawai'i's senior population.

"We haven't seen the effects of the layoffs yet, but when people lose their jobs, caregivers will be affected," she said. "They may not be able to prepare meals."

The Waikiki Health Center, which provides services for the homeless and others in need, has found itself in a particularly tenuous position.

"We're a part of the Waikiki community," said Mary Spadaro, who directs the center's fund-raising activities. "We get a lot of support from Waikiki hotels and tourist-related businesses. We also rely on individuals in that circle to solicit from others. With everything that's gone on this year, they've sort of advised us to not even ask."

Before Sept. 11, the center had estimated a 41 percent increase in the number of people needing services this year through their Care-A-Van program. Dwindling support will hurt this holiday season, and it could be just the beginning.

"Next year we'll feel the real impact in corporate donations and gifts from trusts and foundations, which we rely on heavily," Spadaro said. "This is mainly because their stock portfolios will have shrunk.

"We need help. We need donors to be even more generous than they have in the past. Without a greater outpouring, I don't know how we can maintain our same level of services."

$20 million needed

It's a refrain heard throughout the social service community.

"Every year we start out knowing that we won't have enough to meet the needs of all our partners and the people they serve," said Irving Lauber, president of Aloha United Way. "Assuming that we're successful in meeting our fund-raising goal for this year, it still won't be enough."

Lauber said AUW was about $400,000 short of its goal of $13.6 million. Although a $1 million donation has since helped the agency surpass its goal, Lauber said it would take at least $20 million properly to support each of the 65 charitable organizations and social service agencies for which AUW raises money.

According to the most current statistics compiled by the Hawai'i Community Foundation, 88 percent of Hawai'i households gave to charity in 1998, compared with 69 percent on the Mainland. But with the ranks of Hawai'i's newly jobless steadily rising, Lauber said individuals are hard pressed to share as much as they normally would.

"Corporate donations have been steady, but contributions by individuals are way down," he said. "Employees who might have been good givers in other years can't give this year. They're not working."

Welfare cuts loom

The Institute of Human Services, which provides temporary shelter for the homeless, is bracing for a surge in demand once families who have exhausted their welfare benefits are cut loose starting next month.

"It's still too early to tell," said IHS director Lynn Maunakea. "Very often families who lose their housing will be taken in by family and friends. We're hoping that will fill the need through the holidays, but it all depends on support systems."

Normally IHS dormitories are equipped to house a maximum of 27 families, but plumbing problems have reduced that to 24. IHS provides meals to an estimated 900 people a day, with 90 percent of the food served coming from donations.

"People are in this situation for different reasons," Maunakea said. "Not all of them are 'will-nots.' Some simply cannot, and those are the ones I'm most concerned about."

To exacerbate matters, IHS is down to two working trucks. One is used for food transport, the other to pick up donations.

"If one of those trucks breaks down, we're in a world of hurt," Maunakea said.