HCAP Weekly June 27, 2016

In this week’s issue:

Former Kumuhonua Resident Featured in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Central District Service Center Invites Community Partners to LIHEAP Outreach
Kumuhonua Staff Complete Kahua Waiwai Financial Trainer Certification Course
HCAP Volunteer Serves as an Interpreter for Non-English Speaking LIHEAP Clients
Hā Initiative Students Gain Cooking Skills
WAP Program Shares Tips on Saving Energy with a Smart Power Strip
New AmeriCorps VISTA Joins the HCAP Ohana

Former Kumuhonua Resident Featured in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser

A Honolulu Star-Advertiser article about the most recent homeless count data for Hawaii included the story of a former Kumuhonua Transitional Living Center resident who is now in permanent housing and has found employment. Leah is a 64-year-old veteran of the Army, Navy and National Guard who moved into permanent housing through a VA housing voucher. She is shown pictured with Kumuhonua Lead Case Manager, Kainani Kahunanui.

Leah was a guest speaker at the Point in Time media event held at Central Union Church on June 29, 2016. She was highlighted as one of the women veterans who secured permanent housing during the Mayor’s Challenge of ending veteran homelessness. Leah entered Kumuhonua through a collaborative partnership between HCAP and US VETS, and she credits much of her success to the support she received from both agencies.

Kumuhonua Case Managers and staff work with the residents to help them make a successful transition to permanent housing. Kumuhonua staff also participated in the annual Point in Time Count featured in the article.

Congratulations to Leah on her achievements, and thank you to the Kumuhonua staff for their great efforts!

Central District Service Center Invites Community Partners to LIHEAP Outreach

The Central District Service Center invited community partners to provide information about their programs to those applying for HCAP’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). During the month of June, not thousands of individuals visit the District Service Centers to apply for LIHEAP. The Central District Service Center used this opportunity to invite their community partners to share their resources with the community.

Ke Ola Mamo, a Native Hawaiian Health Care System, offered information on their unique programs. The agency’s mission is to empower, educate and promote the health and well being for the Native Hawaiian Community. Therefore five locations that offer outreach services with access to health care services, dental services, client advocacy and Med Quest applications. Their Medical Clinics are available to all, regardless of insurance coverage. Ke Ola Mamo also offers wellness programs such as Lomi Lomi, a traditional healing massage, and personal exercise trainers who will review your diet with a nutritionist to help develop a healthy diet plan.

Another community partner sharing information at the Central District Service Center was Bluejay. Bluejay offers free cell phones to low-income individuals. The program’s goals are to help low-income individuals have access to cell phones in case of emergencies. Each phone has two hundred free minutes, which includes text messaging for a year.

The LIHEAP outreach is a great opportunity to inform people about all the amazing programs HCAP and its community partners offer. This collaboration helps to better serve the community and create more opportunities for individuals and families to work towards self-sufficiency.

Kumuhonua Staff Complete Kahua Waiwai Financial Trainer Certification Course

Kumuhonua Transitional Living Center’s Case Managers attended a two day Kahua Waiwai Financial Trainer Certification Course offered by Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA). All of the Case Managers completed the course and became certified to deliver place-based financial education workshops using HCA’s Kahua Waiwai: Building a Foundation of Wealth(c) curriculum.

The Kahua Waiwai Financial Trainer Certification Course is part of a larger initiative by homeless service providers and HCA to increase access to financial education, HUD housing counseling, and asset building programs for homeless individuals and families.

Homeless individuals who complete workshops with certified Kahua Waiwai Financial Trainers will receive a workshop certificate to qualify for a variety of County and State public assistance programs. Those who complete the workshops will also be eligible to receive free HUD-approved housing counseling from HCA. They will also be eligible for enrollment in a match savings account, which provides up to a 4:1 match on $1,000 for a total of $5,000 for first month’s rent and deposits.
Kumuhonua Transitional Living Center staff looks forward to using their certification in further assisting the community.

HCAP Volunteer Serves as an Interpreter for Non-English Speaking LIHEAP Clients

The Leahi District Service Center would like to thank Thu for volunteering her time during the month of June. This has been a busy month for the staff who have been assisting and screening low-income individuals and families for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

Thu was a Na Lima Hana Employment Core Services program client in 2014. She was not only able to obtain and sustain employment, but also take part in other HCAP programs such as the Income Tax Services Program, Head Start, and other seasonal programs. Today she is self-reliant and wants to give back to HCAP and her community.

She has played a huge role this month by interpreting for and assisting non-English speakers. We are very proud of her accomplishments and thankful for her assistance during a busy month.

Hā Initiative Students Gain Cooking Skills

The Hā Initiative: Creative STEM After-School Program students at the Leeward STEM Exploration Center worked together to cook lumpia and rice. First, the STEM volunteers prepared the filling. The filling contained green beans from the STEM garden, cabbage, bean sprouts, red bell pepper, spices, and pork. Then the students rolled 50 lumpias and fried them in a shallow pan of oil. There was so much food that the students were able to take leftovers home!

Through this activity, the students learned the importance of sanitation, the amount of planning it takes to prepare larger quantities of food, and how wholesome meals can be prepared with simple ingredients and cookware.

WAP Program Shares Tips on Saving Energy with a Smart Power Strip

Ever wondered how you could become more energy efficient? Here’s a tip from HCAP’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP)!
If you turn off the lights in the TV room, you’ll probably see eyes peering at you through the darkness. All of those glowing LEDs, clocks and power switches are sneaky electronic vampires! While you can’t slay them with a stake through the heart, you can manage these electronic vampires more easily with the help of a smart power strip.

Traditional power strips are an affordable way to expand the number of electrical outlets in your home. But their convenience can encourage you to leave electronics plugged in all the time, and many devices keep drawing power even when you’re not using them. Printers, DVD players, computers and flat screen TVs are all examples of products with standby modes. Therefore, devices can use a significant amount of power. This can cost more money, waste more electricity, and increase your carbon output.

Smart power strips, on the other hand, work to reduce your power usage by shutting down power when devices go into standby mode. Statistics vary, but experts say standby power consumption for average homes range from 5 percent to 10 percent of your household energy consumption. It can also account for about 1 percent of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions.

New AmeriCorps VISTA Joins the HCAP Ohana

HCAP welcomes its newest AmeriCorps VISTA member! Jess is joining HCAP’s Planning, Program Development and Communications Department as the Agency Evaluation Aide VISTA.

Jess grew up on the East Coast and attended Virginia Commonwealth University, graduating in 2014 with Bachelor of Science in Urban Studies: Planning and Policy. She completed her Masters in Community Planning in April 2016 at the University of Cincinnati. Through her studies, she has developed a variety of skills in research, evaluation, data analysis, and long term planning. She hopes to utilize these skills to assist HCAP in developing evaluation systems for its programs that will support their long-term sustainability.