The September 11th attack
Coalition to help residents cope with terror aftermath
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
More than 30 social service and religious organizations have banded together to better deal with the human trauma that has come from the combination of the Sept. 11 attacks and statewide job losses, Gov. Ben Cayetano announced yesterday.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
The coalition, called Hawai'i Together, includes nonprofit organizations, churches, financial institutions, the military, businesses, philanthropies and government agencies.
Gov. Ben Cayetano is flanked by the Rev. Dan Chun and Susan Doyle, Aloha United Way Vice President for Community Building.
Co-chairwoman Susan Doyle, who is also Aloha United Way's vice president for community building, said the focus right now is to find "creative ways of doing things that haven't been done before."
Doyle noted that social service officials are seeing growing needs in Hawai'i — from basic food and shelter to mental health treatment and an increase in domestic violence.
Since Sept. 11 there have been more than 11,000 new filings for unemployment claims, most of them stemming from layoffs, furloughs and reduced work hours in tourism-related businesses and at airlines.
"This is a time when our safety net needs to be as strong as possible," Doyle said.
"The difference is we're going to work together," she said. "We're not used to putting all of our resources on the table and mixing them up."
The Rev. Dan Chun, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu, will serve as co-chairman.
He said the first visible signs of the coalition's work may come in the form of radio spots, which Chun called "vignettes of hope."
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.
