Nearly $900,000 in grants will provide a boost for nine nonprofit social services agencies and consumer groups struggling with Hawai'i's economic downturn.

The grants are the first of many to be made by the newly created Hawai'i Community Stabilization Initiative, a six-year, $8.6 million program to support local families and individuals in need.

"There is a resounding cry for help as local communities and families are impacted by the economic storm that has hit Hawai'i," said Kelvin Taketa, CEO of the Hawai'i Community Foundation. "The demand for food stamp benefits and access to homeless shelters is up, and foreclosures and personal bankruptcies are on the rise," he said.

Recipients of the grants include Aloha United Way, Hawaii Alliance for Community Based Economic Development, Helping Hands Hawai'i, the Kaua'i Food Bank Inc., the Office for Social Ministry of the Big Island and the Maui County branch of the Salvation Army.

Other grantees include Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Hawai'i, the Hawai'i HomeOwnership Center and Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i.

Wendy Burkholder, executive director of Consumer Credit Counseling, which received a $300,000 grant, said her organization recently faced the prospect of closing after 30 years because of budget constraints and soaring case loads.

She noted that for each counselor, there are about 840 clients, many of whom are being hounded by Mainland collection agencies or face eviction from their apartments.

"This will mean so much for so many people," Burkholder said.

The Hawai'i Community Stabilization Initiative is funded by a broad group of community organizations. It includes eBay Inc. founder Pierre Omidyar's Omidyar 'Ohana Fund at the Hawai'i Community Foundation, which kicked in $2.25 million.

Other backers include the Atherton Family Foundation, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, Cooke Foundation Ltd., American Savings Bank, First Hawaiian Bank, the McInerny Foundation, the Kosasa Family Fund and the Stupski Family Fund.