HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0918.008 2022-2024P /coundi
From: Renee Godoy C:
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2024 12:36 PM'
To: Council Testimony< "
Subject: Bill 176: Nonprofit Funding
Aloha!
Friends of First Responders is a non-profit that is committed to the
health and wellness of First Responders and their families. AND
their families because the health and wellness of first responders is
heavily impacted by the health and wellness of their families.
There is so little out there for them. A recent audit by the county
auditor highlighted the fact that our Police Department is sadly
lacking in services for their personnel who's health and wellness is
negatively impacted by the constant exposure to trauma. This is
largely due to the lack of funds allotted in their budgets for this
most important need. From what I see - this is also true for other
public safety agencies in our County.
This is why we started our non-profit: to raise awareness and
funds and try to gather support and resources to ensure that there
are preventive programs as well as immediate help when needed
for a first responder in crisis.
I want to commend our Police and Fire Chief for their efforts with
limited resources to address this issue. While it seems to be easier
to justify funding for equipment and facilities - our greatest
resource remains our Public Safety personnel. We should be
spending at least as much to maintain the mental and physical
health of our men and women as we allot for the vehicles they
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drive and equipment needed to do their job. Every piece of
equipment is of no value without a person operating it.
I want to thank the County Council and our Chiefs for their support
of projects we have asked for help with. We could not have
accomplished what we did in this past couple of years without it.
One matter of concern is the definition of "public purpose" in
determining eligibility for funds. The people we serve represent a
small portion of our community that have a tremendous impact on
the entire community. Healthy first responders ensure less
manpower shortages and better services that ensure the public
safety of our entire island community.
It is my hope that there will be less restrictions and more funds
made available to nonprofits that are working to provide services
for our first responders recognizing that they serve a very
important "public purpose".
Thank you for all that you do for our community and being
attentive to our concerns.
MAHALO,
Chaplain Renee D. Godoy
"Committed to the health and wellness of first responders and their families"
Chaptain Renee Godoy
Founder/President
Friends of First Responders
Website: fofrhi.com
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