Posted on: Friday, July 26, 2002

2 local nonprofits to merge for better service to disabled

By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Two nonprofit organizations in Hawai'i will merge to provide stronger service and more programs for people with disabilities, officials from the agencies said yesterday.

Easter Seals Hawai'i and Special Education Center of Hawaii, also known as SECOH, will join under the Easter Seals name and operate with an annual budget of $13 million when the merger is completed in the next few months, said John Howell, president and chief executive officer of Easter Seals Hawai'i.

Annually, Easter Seals Hawai'i serves approximately 1,200 men, women and children statewide, and SECOH provides for more than 200 people on O'ahu.

"This is a merger of opportunity," said Howell, who worked in management positions for GTE and Xerox before coming to Easter Seals Hawai'i. "We can increase our quality together."

The agencies will supplement each other because Easter Seals concentrated on programs for children with disabilities, while SECOH focused its programs on adults, said Howell.

"It's not a question of one have, one have-not," Howell said. "We know there's greater strength in numbers."

Mary Jossem, executive director of SECOH, said the merger will also allow SECOH to establish networks on Kaua'i, Maui and Hawai'i, where Easter Seals Hawai'i had programs set up. Since 1965, SECOH has provided service to people with disabilities on O'ahu.

SECOH, in return, will be able to increase day-services for elderly people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia because the agency already has a licensed daycare program, Jossem said.

"We're joining forces of strength," Jossem said. "We both have strong management, strong staff and we're financially sound, so we can serve many of the unmet needs in the area of disabilities."

When the agencies combine, they will bring together a total of about 400 employees. Howell said the agencies have not made a decision about who will fill the management positions, but "there is room for everyone."

None of the Easter Seals Hawai'i or SECOH locations will be affected by the merger.

David Woll, vice president of SECOH's board of directors who also has a daughter who participated in Easter Seals programs, said Easter Seals will be able to provide even better service after the merger, and it will perpetuate the same programs that helped his child, who is now 30 years old.

"It's critical to have more programs available," Woll said. "My daughter, who has serious disabilities, now has two jobs and is taking classes at KCC (Kapi'olani Community College) because programs help. I think the merge will work pretty well."

Easter Seals Hawai'i, founded in 1946, provides an after-school youth program and the Infant Early Intervention Program, which provides for children with special needs from birth to 3 years of age. Easter Seals Hawai'i also presents annual fund- raising events such as Taste of Honolulu. SECOH operates a senior center in Kahala and two community centers in Waipahu and Pearl City.

Reach Shayna Coleon at scoleon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8004.