HCAP Weekly May 25, 2015

In this week’s issue:

Youth Services 2015 Graduation
Pauoa Head Start Ends School Year with Culture Day
Leahi District Client Gains Employment
Kumuhonua Resident Overcomes Challenges and Secures Housing
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Begins Monday!
HCAP 2015 Community Survey Closes on Sunday, May 31st

Youth Services 2015 Graduation

Congratulations to HCAP’s Youth Services Class of 2015! Last Friday, Youth Services students participated in graduation rehearsal and practiced their class song together.

As graduation quickly approaches, we are asking for floral donations to be used on the stage and table arrangements for the ceremony, which will be held on Thursday, June 18, 2015. If you would like to make a donation, please contact Youth Services at 591-1766.

Pauoa Head Start Ends School Year with Culture Day

Pauoa Head Start parents planned a culture day for the children on their last day of school. The parents wanted to plan fun, educational, and cultural activities for the children. They decided to create learning stations, where they taught the children to play Hawaiian games like ulu maika and moi pahe`e. They also taught the children how to play palai`e with an accompanying Hawaiian chant and helped them to make fish from coconut leaves. The children enjoyed learning these games in small groups.

The children then broke up in to two groups to experience coconut grating and sampling the grated coconut. They also sampled haupia, sweet potato, mamaki tea and taro chips. The children were also fortunate enough to sample a variety of ethnic foods that were specific to each family’s ethnicity- from West African to Tongan!

Everyone enjoyed getting together and sharing a special day with the children and their families. It was a great way to end the school year.

Leahi District Client Gains Employment

Tracey-Ann visited the Leahi District Service Center seeking employment assistance after being unemployed and without steady income for months. She joined the Na Lima Hana- Employment Core Services program and received one-on-one employment training to help with her resume and to prepare for job interviews.

Tracey-Ann recently found a job as a full-time Cashier at Lahaina Chicken. She appreciates the assistance that HCAP Community Worker, Reiko was able to provide her. Tracey-Ann will also work at HCAP as a temporary intake aide for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) during the month of June.

Kumuhonua Resident Overcomes Challenges and Secures Housing

Congratulations to Blaine, a resident at Kumuhonua Transitional Living Center, who secured public housing at the beginning of May. Blaine had been a Kumuhonua resident since November 2014, after being homeless for about four years on Oahu and Kauai. Blaine faced challenges with his health after surviving a moped accident that took a toll on his mental and physical abilities, however he continues to progress and improve greatly. Blaine also continues to maintain his sobriety of three years and counting. He attended many workshops, including classes on financial literacy, to position himself for a smooth transition to permanent housing. We are very happy to see Blaine secure his own place after overcoming many challenges!

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Begins Monday!

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) begins on Monday, June 1, 2015 and runs through June 30, 2105. The program is offered at 5 convenient locations throughout Oahu, from 9am-12pm Monday through Friday. Details are shown on the flyer above. For more information, call 521-4531.

HCAP 2015 Community Survey Closes on Sunday, May 31st

The Honolulu Community Action Program, Inc. has created the 2015 Community Survey and is asking for community participation. This survey will allow HCAP to collect qualitative and quantitative data to use in producing our Community Needs Assessment (CNA).

The CNA presents data specifically on the needs and characteristics of low-income individuals and families in our agency’s service area, the City and County of Honolulu, which includes the entire island of Oahu. Once collected, the data is analyzed to determine significant areas of need, identify any potential gaps in HCAP’s programs and services, and to develop goals and objectives accordingly.

The survey is currently available online and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete; participants will remain completely anonymous. We welcome everyone to participate in the survey, which will be available online until May 31st at 11:30pm.

To access the 2015 Community Survey, please click here.