$40,609 OK'd for shelter program

Advertiser Staff

Aloha United Way has approved a special allocation of $40,609 to support emergency food and shelter programs on O'ahu.

The decision to appropriate the money was made because of the tremendous need in the community and as a result of the cut in federal financing for the emergency food and shelter program, according to Aloha United Way president Irving Lauber.

"Unfortunately, our low unemployment rate does not mean that people are not struggling to feed their families and keep them in safe shelter," Lauber said. "The emergency food and shelter funds are extremely important, and although we aren't able to cover the entire shortfall, we felt it was important to do something. These funds, in some cases, are helping to prevent families from becoming homeless."

Food and shelter are the services most requested in calls to the AUW's 211 telephone line. Requests are up about 17 percent this year.

The federal government uses a formula based on the unemployment rate to determine emergency food money for each county.

Honolulu County received just $164,000 this year, down from $389,000 in 2003. That is only a portion of the federal money received each year for such social service programs, but it still could have a significant impact on some agencies.

The federal money is used by local nonprofit agencies to provide needy families with food, rent and mortgage assistance and shelter.

The special allocation will be divided among eight AUW partner agencies: Catholic Charities Hawai'i, Child & Family Service, Hawai'i Foodbank, Mental Health Kokua, Pacific Gateway Center, Parents And Children Together, The Salvation Army and Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center.