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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0150.050 1998-2000 115 Kapiolani Street Phone (808) 961-2559 East Hawaii Coalition for the Homeless Hilo, HawaPi 96721 Fax (808)935-1720 Email: ehch@interpac.net February 18, 1999 Council Member Tyler III District 8 25 Aupuni Street, Rm. 209 Hilo, HI 96720 969-3291 Gear Council Member Tyier Iii, As our agency continues to be recognized as a valuable resource in the community that provides a continuum of human services, we need your support in securing our organization. The stabilization and expansion of economic resources are essential to the operations of the East Hawaii Coalition for the Homeless. The opening of this "Hope for the Homeless" membership enables EHCH to maintain and strengthen our financial base, and provides an ongoing opportunity for us to implement our mission. We face the limited fiscal resources in Hawaii, and cannot afford to decrease our services. There is constant and critical demand for our efforts in helping the homeless. This "Hope for the Homeless" is a commitment to the future, to our children, and to a vision where homelessness will end. Let us work together on this effort, providing hope and promise to the homeless children, families, women and men, as they struggle with the hardships of homelessness. The East Hawaii Coalition for the Homeless is anot-for-profit organization that has been serving the homeless community for over a decade (1987). We are dedicated in providing quality comprehensive emergency and transitional services to the homeless. Our services include emergency and transitional housing, 24-hour food pantry, case management, housing assistance, referral to necessary health and social services agencies, and educational life skills classes. The mission of EHCH is to break the cycle of homelessness and to guide clients on the pathway to self-sufficiency J and a healthy lifestyle. c Tru ~ ~ ~ m O Alms R. Duldul o, B.A. ~ Q ~ Executive Direc or ~ ~y 4c4 ~ N,wNI IN,nE (I~Ui{~I N W W To provide hope in ending homelessness, ~ ~ ~ ~ join our "Hope for the Homeless" membership by contributing: _$20 _$35 _$50 _$75 _$100 _$200 Other: Your donation is tax-deductible. Please mail your check to EHCH, 115 Kapiolani St., Hilo, HI 96720. Please indicate on your checks if you would like to remain as an anonymous donor. Thank You! Comm. Ra ~$'O. OSO THE FACTS ON HOMELESSNESS What Causes Homelessness? The two major causes of homelessness are: 1. The growing shortage of affordable rental housing, and 2. A simultaneous increase in poverty. Poverty and homelessness are highly linked. For example, poor people find it hard to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care, and education. Difficult decisions need to be made when once faces a limited income. Often, it is housing, which is the most costly expense of one's income. Being poor, means suffering from an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets. The causes of poverty include the stagnant labor market opportunities, and the declining value and availability of public benefits. Who are the Homeless? Children One out of four homeless people is a child. The fastest growing homeless group in the United States is families with children. The number of homeless children doubled between 1984-1989. The Elderly The senior citizen who receives $450 a month in benefits and pays $350 rent cannot survive in any U.S. city. However, Social Security, Medicare, and other programs provide a safety net for many of the elderly. Some of the elderly are living in poverty, not homeless, but often homebound and without proper homelessness. Full-time workers One out of four homeless is employed full or part-time, according to a national study. The fact is simple and frightening: a person who works 40 hours a week minimum is a prime candidate for homelessness. Disabled Vets One quarter of the homeless population in the U.S. are war veterans, most of them from the Vietnam War. Due to the disability or trauma they have suffered, some of then wound up on our streets, mentally traumatized, or unable to find work. Hawaii's Homeless According to a recent survey of service providers, the number of homeless people in Hawaii appears to have doubled since 1992. Although there have been no recent formal surveys, those who provide food and shelter estimate there are now about 10,000 homeless people in Hawaii on any given day. Many have lost their homes because of lack of jobs, while public policy has forced others out of places where they traditionally sought shelter, like public parks and airports. (INFORMATION COMPILED BY THE EAST HAWAII COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS)