Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Friday, May 8, 2020
OHA COVID Agenda: Lets Give More Millions to CNHA
By News Release @ 11:37 PM :: 3071 Views :: OHA, COVID-19

OHA Board approves $3 million in COVID-19 emergency relief funds

News Release from OHA

HONOLULU (May 8, 2020) – The OHA Board of Trustees today announced the approval of a $3-million emergency relief package to help individual beneficiaries as well as Native Hawaiian communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic crisis.

“The last three months have turned our people’s lives upside down,” said OHA Chair Colette Machado. “OHA is doing whatever we can to help our families and communities hurt by this crisis. I thank my fellow trustees and administration for contributing to OHA’s relief efforts.”

Chair Machado continued: “To our beneficiaries, our hearts go out to all of you and please know that OHA remains committed to aiding our Lāhui.  We are a resilient people who have persevered through tremendous adversity over the course of our history. We will make it through this by sticking together and eventually come out on the other side stronger than ever.”

During the OHA Board’s first virtual meeting during the COVID crisis, held yesterday, trustees unanimously approved funding for a series of programs. First, trustees authorized the release of an additional $2.17 million to OHA’s existing Emergency Financial Assistance Program grant, which aims to help Native Hawaiians struggling economically.  OHA originally awarded the $1.66-million grant to the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) in November.

Re-branded as the Kahiau Community Assistance Program under CNHA, the grant provides up to $1,500 in one-time emergency assistance to cover mortgage, rent, rent deposit or utility debts of Native Hawaiians facing financial hardship. Such hardship may include reduction in hours or loss of employment. Yesterday’s board action brings OHA’s total investment in the program to $3.83 million.

OHA Chief Executive Officer Sylvia Hussey said that recent data indicated that OHA should direct resources to address the growing economic challenges facing the Native Hawaiian community.

“Our research at the start of the pandemic anticipated that our community’s longstanding financial difficulties would make them more vulnerable to an economic downturn resulting from COVID-19,” said OHA CEO Hussey. “New economic data is beginning to illustrate the heavy financial toll this crisis is having on our ʻohana.  This is why the Board took action yesterday to provide direct funding to our beneficiaries most in need; why we advocated for renter eviction protection; and why we are helping to cover the cost to feed our must vulnerable families through our Kaiāulu Meals program.”

New data from the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations indicates that Native Hawaiians are losing their jobs during the pandemic at disproportionate rates. While Native Hawaiians constitute only 19 percent of the total working-age population of Hawaiʻi (over 16 years of age), a quarter of all unemployment claimants in Hawaiʻi from the first quarter of the year identified as Native Hawaiian. Moreover, between late March and late April, CNHA’s Kahiau program received a 125 percent increase in applications, demonstrating elevated levels of financial hardship within the Native Hawaiian community.

This data substantiated prior research that predicted that Native Hawaiians would be at greater risk of suffering financial challenges, including loss of employment and eviction, from the economic impacts from the coronavirus pandemic.  Native Hawaiians have fewer financial resources to weather financial emergencies due to their lower per capita income ($25,590) compared to the overall state population ($35,255); and their lower median household income ($75,708) compared to the overall state population ($80,212).  Furthermore, 12.3 percent of all Native Hawaiians live in poverty, compared to 8.8 percent of the total state population.  Finally, like other Hawaiʻi residents, many Native Hawaiians rely on the service and tourism industries to financially support their families—23.6 percent of working Native Hawaiians are employed in service occupations, which have been among the most impacted by the spread of COVID-19 and related business closures.

Yesterday, trustees also approved $830,000 to programs located statewide that promote community-based food security for Native Hawaiian farmers, fishermen, ranchers, hunters and other individuals practicing subsistence living.  The funds will be administered by the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation

“We need to make sure that our ‘ohana can put food on the table during this pandemic,” said OHA CEO Hussey. “But for many of our communities, the crisis is making it hard to access food at affordable prices. So we are working with Hawaiʻi Community Foundation to support locally sourced food from area farmers and producers, and to help individuals who rely on fishing and other subsistence practices to mālama their families. Our hope is to help re-enforce the resiliency and strength of our communities.”

For more information on the Kahiau Community Assistance Program, call CNHA at 808-784-4464 or visit https://www.hawaiiancouncil.org/kahiau.

Additional information on COVID-19 relief resources from the OHA and federal and local sources are available at www.oha.org/covid19.

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT