HCAP Weekly March 7, 2016

In this week’s issue:

U.S. Veteran Secures Permanent Housing
Youth Services Students Learn About Different Cultures and Values
STEM Students Learn About Artificial Intelligence
Leahi District Staff Volunteer at St. Augustine’s Soup Kitchen
HCAP Winter 2016 Quarterly Newsletter
Need Help Doing Your Taxes?
HCAP Head Start Accepting Applications for the 2016-2017 School Year

U.S. Veteran Secures Permanent Housing

Laquita came to Kumuhonua Transitional Living Center through the U.S. VETS ADVANCE Hawaii Women’s Program (AHWP). While she was at Kumuhonua, she completed her Medical Assistant certificate and enrolled in a bachelor’s program at Argosy University to study Psychology. Laquita was full of positive energy and a joy to have around. With the assistance of the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program she secured her own apartment in Waikiki, which is closer to her school. We wish her all the best in her new home!

Youth Services Students Learn About Different Cultures and Values

Youth Services C-Base students are currently in the Community Resources unit. To successfully complete the unit, the students have been working hard on their research of a country and preparing a display board and oral presentation. Community Resources covers topics such as lines of longitude and latitude, time zones, reading a map, converting bar scales, and the importance of understanding other cultures and their values.

STEM Students Learn About Artificial Intelligence

Students at the Hā Initiative: Creative STEM After-School Program’s Kalihi STEM Exploration Center continue to develop their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math skills through competitive but fun robotics challenges. Participants also explored some of the core 21st century competencies including digital literacy, emotional intelligence, communication, and entrepreneurship. After viewing a TEDx talk by Andrew Mcafee, co-director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy and author of “The Second Machine Age,” the students as well as volunteers engaged in a lively discussion on the shifting nature of work as artificial intelligence and robots advance and take over more and more traditionally human tasks.

While the “3 R’s,” Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic remain necessary for success in the future, they may not be sufficient. IBM’s Watson and Google’s natural language processors are capable of reading millions of times faster than humans in preparation of legal documents, Artificial Intelligence now routinely write sports and economic news reports, and the Turbo Tax app continues to dominate and expand its user base. The students learned that what remains difficult for machines are things such as interpersonal skills, creativity, innovation, and leadership.

Machines routinely solve math problems, but cannot design an innovative design for a hill-climbing Lego robot, on the spot, as the young Palamabots did. Machines can perform medical diagnosis, but they lack the psychological and social ability to tell how a specific patient is feeling, and how to deliver hard results in a compassionate and understanding way, as the kids could during a job-roleplaying scenario. Machines can pilot planes, drive cars, and even drive the global financial system, but they cannot alone lead a business, a school, a country in a direction that benefits all its people rather than a select few. The older students, who the younger ones look up to, learned that if they cheat or behave negatively, they are leading the others in that direction. “A good leader thinks about the right thing in the long run, not just the fun thing right now,” Carl John, one of the young leaders summarized in his journal.

Leahi District Staff Volunteer at St. Augustine’s Soup Kitchen

On March 2nd, the Leahi District Service Center staff volunteered at St. Augustine By The Sea’s soup kitchen in Waikiki to serve and feed hot meals to the homeless. St. Augustine’s soup kitchen consists mostly of volunteers from local churches, non-profit agencies, and Rainbow Drive Inn staff. The soup kitchen is open to serve the homeless community, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. The parishioners and other caring community members provide all of the food donations.

The Leahi District staff members assisted the kitchen by washing dishes, prepping, and serving hot prepared meals to the homeless. Not only was this a great way to help out other agencies and serve our community, but the community workers were able to reach out to community members who are in need of employment. Mahalo to the St. Augustine Church and for other agencies who came together to serve our Waikiki community!

HCAP Winter 2016 Quarterly Newsletter

We’re excited to share the Winter 2016 issue of Ku`i Na Lono: Spread the News, featuring these stories and more:
• HCAP Engages in Acts of Selflessness During #GivingTuesday
• HCAP Receives Honorary Certificate
• Single Mother Thanks Weatherization Assistance Program
• Head Start Classrooms Promote Family Engagement

View the Winter 2016 Quarterly here.

View past Quarterly Newsletters here.

Need Help Doing Your Taxes?

HCAP volunteers and staff have been busy doing free tax preparation services at all five of our District Service Centers and the HCAP Main Office. Each preparer is IRS certified to prepare returns through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, in partnership with the Hawaii Alliance of Community Based Development’s (HACBED) Hawaii VITA & Financial Empowerment Coalition.

As of March 4th, 516 tax returns have been prepared, with filers receiving a total of $1.1 million in returns. 288 of those returns received the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Contact the District Service Center nearest you to make an appointment or call the HCAP Main Office for more information.

Appointments are available first come, first served during the following days and times:

Central District Service Center (Phone: 488-6834) Tuesdays & Thursdays 9am – 12pm

Kalihi-Palama District Service Center (Phone: 847-0804) Tuesdays & Thursdays 10am – 12pm & 1pm – 3pm

Leahi District Service Center (Phone: 732-7755) Tuesdays & Thursdays 9am – 12pm

Leeward District Service Center (Phone: 696-4261) Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays 9am – 12pm & 1pm – 3pm

Windward District Service Center (Phone: 239-5754) Tuesdays & Thursdays 9am – 12pm

HCAP Main Office (Phone: 521-4531) Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays 9am – 12pm

HCAP Head Start Accepting Applications for the 2016-2017 School Year

Are you or someone you know in need of free or affordable preschool? Spread the word! HCAP Head Start is now accepting applications for children 3-5 years for the 2016-2017 school year. Families are encouraged to apply by calling (808) 847-2400 or visiting our website.