HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0380.003 2020-2022 {
COUNTLY CLERK
COUNTY of HAWAIII Farrah-Marie Gomes, Ph.D.
CEI 64-5212 Io ua Place
Time Karnuela, Eli 96743
i
Date SEP 2 0 2021 September 20, 2021
Aloha Chair Kaneali'i-Kleinfelder,Vice Chair Kimball, and members of the Hawaii County Council
Finance Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony. I write in strong support of Communication 380,which
requests an update and discussion on how the County of Hawaii plans to spend its initial tranche of
American Rescue Plan Act(ARPA)funds.
I have been a member of the Hawaii County Committee on the Status of Women (CSW)since 2012,
where I had the privilege of serving as recording secretary from 2013-2015 and chair from 2015-2017
then again from 2019-2020. In working with the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women
(HSCSW),the Hawaii County CSW promotes equality for women and girls in the County by acting as a
catalyst for positive change through advocacy,education,collaboration and program development.
Our CSW met last Wednesday and did not yet have notice of this agenda's posting, therefore,the
testimony I present here is reflective of my own personal views and opinions.
In the summer of 2020, several CSW members and supporters wrote in support of Resolution 680-20,
which supported and urged equity, inclusion, and social and economic justice principles into COVID-19
related recovery initiatives for Hawaii County. That resolution came on the heels of the April 14, 2020
Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women publication, Building Bridges, Not Walking on Sacks:
A Feminist Economic Recovery flan for CC VID-99.
I'd like to point out one section of Resolution 680-20:
P IT FURTHER RESOLVE®that the Administration recognize the specific vulnerability women
and girls face in this pandemic and make every effort to proactively and consistently engage with
the Hawaii County Committee on the Status of Women as well as women and girls in our
community in order to inform COVID-19 related decisions.
Resolution 680-20 was passed on July 8, 2020. More than a year later, the CSW has not received a
single communication from any department across the County of Hawaii.We meet monthly via Zoom and
all of our member email addresses are posted online, so our members remain accessible to the
community and our government leaders.
During these challenging times,the CSW has reached out to our communities and invited women across
the island to share stories of how they have been impacted by the pandemic. We are in the process of
editing those videos so they can be shared broadly in hopes that it will help decision makers better
understand the magnitude of impact experienced by our local female residents. Just a few weeks ago,the
chair of our CSW presented endings of our Status of Women in Hawaii County report to the County
Council. In addition to that, a few of our members are simultaneously working with colleagues across the
state on a Gendered Impacts of COVID in Hawaii report.
1 share the above info as a reminder about what has already been approved and ask the County to fulfill
kuleana that has been bestowed upon it. There are others in the community who are deeply invested in
this work. We care genuinely about the health and wellbeing of the women and girls across our county.
We understand the heavy lift currently in progress and we are here to help. I look forward to the update
on how the County of Hawai'i plans to spend its initial tranche of American Rescue Plan Act(ARPA)
funds and hope that part of the discussion includes how to equitably ensure response and resources not
just for recovery but for rebuilding and sustainability into the future.
Mahalo for this opportunity to provide testimony,
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Farrah-Marie Gomes, Ph.D. Comm. o. _s
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