Social agencies feeling squeeze
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
Money that Hawai'i receives through the Federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program is down 52 percent this year, meaning that some agencies that provide food and shelter to the needy could face cuts in staff or services, according to the Aloha United Way.
The state will get $272,000 in Federal Emergency Management Agency money this year, down from $564,000 in 2003, said Irving Lauber, AUW president.
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, coming as calls to Aloha United Way indicate that need is up.
The federal government uses a formula based on the unemployment rate to determine how much money goes to each county, Lauber said, but the unemployment rate is not a good indicator of the need.
"It doesn't truly relate to how many people are hungry or on the verge of becoming homeless," he said. "Our cost of living is so high that even people who are working can't make ends meet."
Joanne Lundstrom, chief executive officer of Mental Health Kokua, said the federal money is used to support their Safe Haven Project downtown and will directly affect those services.
"We lost from last year about $22,000 and that is a big cut for Safe Haven, which shelters homeless people that have mental illness," Lundstrom said. "We will have to scramble to find a way to make up those dollars or cut services. Cutting services is not the way we want to go, especially now when there are more people on the streets than there used to be."
The federal money is not part of Aloha United Way's fund-raising efforts in Hawai'i, but is administered by the group.
To help make up the difference, Aloha United Way has opted not to take its administrative fee for managing the money this year and will look for other options to increase the amount of money going to food and shelter programs on O'ahu.
"Even last year's EFSP funds were woefully inadequate in meeting the tremendous need," Lauber said. "That money was gone in four months, so that shows you how much people are struggling."
Food and shelter are the most-requested services from the AUW's 211 telephone line, a free, 24-hour information and referral service. In 2003, there were 9,400 requests for food and 8,600 requests for housing. Requests are up about 17 percent so far this year.
Other nonprofit recipients of the money include Angel Network Charities, Child & Family Service, Hawai'i Foodbank, Mental Health Kokua, Pacific Gateway Center, Parents And Children Together and the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center.
Reach James Gonser at 535-2431 or jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com.
