KUW enables federal funding for Kaua‘i

Last month, Kaua‘i United Way was pleased to be able to administer $14,610 in federal funding to help alleviate hunger and prevent homelessness on our island. This money is Kaua‘i’s portion of the Emergency Food & Shelter Program, made available nationwide by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

This funding is allocated to qualifying counties which have local United Ways capable of administering it. The amount that each county gets is based on a formula of the number of its people living below the poverty line. This year in Hawai‘i, only the Big Island qualified for a direct allocation. An additional amount of money is set aside to be divided up among the remainder of the state.

This funding must be renewed every year on a vote by Congress authorizing it. In the past, we have received this funding in the spring. It was very late arriving this year because of the prolonged debate in Congress over spending. This money must be fully distributed by the end of the calendar year.

This year, the EFSP funding on Kaua‘i was allocated to: Hawai‘i Food Bank – Kaua‘i Branch; Kaua‘i Economic Opportunity Homeless Shelter; Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank; Malama Pono Health Services; Salvation Army of Kaua‘i; YWCA Women’s Shelter.

EFSP funding provides for food, clothing, rent, mortgage and utility assistance. Feeding hungry people is obviously an urgent problem, and this money augments other funding at our food banks, which distribute food to a network of food pantries coordinated throughout the island as inexpensively as possible. A major one of these pantries is the Salvation Army of Kaua‘i, which operates active soup kitchens in Lihue and Hanapepe. Funding to the food banks will further decrease the minimal “shared maintenance cost” they must charge food pantries to cover their own costs. Funding to food providers will increase their ability to purchase food at minimal cost from the food banks.

In addition to meeting the emergency needs of those in poverty, another major objective of EFSP funding is the prevention of homelessness. Homelessness is a devastating phenomenon that leads, with tragic predictability, to a cascade of social problems including crime, violence, disease and drug abuse. It is vastly more expensive for social service agencies to address all these issues in an attempt to get a homeless family back to living independently than it is to provide funding to help keep families intact, in their own homes with adequate food, clothing and medicine. This is the objective of EFSP rent, mortgage and utility assistance.

The distribution of rent, mortgage and utility assistance is carefully coordinated among Kaua‘i’s social service agencies so that no individuals can “double dip” the system. Such funding is only available one month per twelve-month cycle for any individual family. In addition, families receiving this funding receive mandatory counseling to help them learn to live within their means. Often, counselors find clients simply have not developed adequate life-skills to do so. For instance, they may not take advantage of store bargains, not be aware of less expensive food choices or rent, rather than own, their appliances. The ultimate objective is to help them learn to get by with the income they are able to generate.

Kaua‘i United Way’s administration of EFSP funding is completely separate from their 2011 Annual Campaign, which is ongoing. Currently, the Campaign has raised approximately 40 percent of its increased goal of $625,000.

Kaua‘i United Way supports 28 Participating Agencies that provide dozens of social service programs, all right here on Kaua‘i, that save lives every day and benefit tens of thousands of Kaua‘i people every year which makes life on our island better for each of us. For more information go to kauaiuniedway.org or call 245-2043.

• Scott Giarman is executive director of Kaua‘i United Way. He can be reached at sng@kauaiunitedway.org.