OHA Grant Will Help Family Promise Extend Outreach
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Del.icio.usFamily Promise Hawaii recently received a much-needed boost in its efforts to help Oahu’s homeless families with a $25,000 grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
Through day centers in both Kailua and Honolulu, the nonprofit group provides laundry, shower facilities, computers, fax machines and a mailing address to help clients find employment and, eventually, long-term housing. Currently it is aiding 60 Hawaiian families.
“It’s really about bringing in more Hawaiian families and serving them,” said executive director Mary Saunders. “One things that makes us different from a lot of programs is that we help only families with children.”
Family Promise president Gail Ann Chew added that the OHA grant is critical because Hawaiians make up a disproportionate number of homeless families. “While Native Hawaiians make up only 18 percent of our population, they are estimated to make up 37 percent of our homeless,” she noted.
Since its inception in 2004, Family Promise said it has seen 70 percent of its families achieve long-term housing within three or four months of entering the program, and 100 percent have either found work or improved their economic situation in that time.
The organization’s next goal, according to Saunders, is to create a third network, which would allow Family Promise to help more families. A network consists of about 13 congregations, and right now Family Promise has a non-denominational network of 65 congregations that provide food and sleeping areas for the families. Its two networks can each house 14 people a night.
“If we are going to do a third network, we are going to need another van,” Saunders explained, “because we have a van for each side (of the island) that our drivers use to transport the families to and from the day centers to the congregations every night.
“All of our congregations have a huge number of volunteers who provide meals and services to the families,” Saunders added, listing more than 1,500 volunteers who help feed, clothe and house the families.
“We always need supplies for the families,” she added. “We need diapers. We just bought new air bags for the congregations. I could go on and on.
“There is a great need out there, and we are just a small group serving the homeless.”
Anyone wishing to help can call 548-7478.
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