HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0652.010 2014-2016 PhsSc
Murashige, Laura
From: Gomes, Kerrey <Kerrey.Gomes@redcross.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2016 8:50 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: written testimony for 4/19 meeting
Attachments: FY17 County of Hawaii non-profit grant support ltr from CM to Council for 4-19-16
hearing (written testimony).pdf
Hi,
Attached is written testimony in support of the FY17 nonprofit grant recommendations (communication no.
652.2), which will be discussed during the April 19th County Council meeting.
Thank you,
Kerrey Gomes
Major Gifts Officer f �J
American Red Cross of Hawaii �.
4155 Diamond Head Road - "
Honolulu, HI 96816
Phone: (808) 739.8140 tj
Fax: (808) 735.8626
Kerrey.Gomes@redcross.org ac's
American Red Cross o -
,` Hawaii
comm: No.
Ref. To: � Sc-
Qof Dote APR 1 9 2t)16
1
American Red Cross
Hawaii State Chapter
April 13, 2016
Hawaii County Council
West Hawaii Civic Center
Council Building A
74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Re: Recommendations for Nonprofit Grant Organizations for FY2016-2017
(Communication No.652.2)
Dear Councilmembers:
The American Red Cross, Hawaii State Chapter requests your support of FY2016-2017 County of Hawaii
non-profit grant funding of$10,500 for our Disaster Preparedness & Response Program in Hawaii
County. The Red Cross is the only non-profit organization that responds to disasters 24/7, 365 days a
year; our services are essential and irreplaceable. Our mission is to prevent and alleviate human
suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of
donors.
Disasters strip people of their essentials—shelter,food, and warmth—and larger events, such as
hurricanes,can ravage entire cities and even islands. Every day,the Red Cross assists people who face
disasters, offering care and comfort even in their darkest hours. Alarmingly, our country is
experiencing more disasters now than ever before. Between 2004-2013, a record-breaking 654 major
disasters were presidentially declared, and nearly 21 million people In the U.S.were affected by
disasters. The Red Cross maintains its steadfast commitment to meet the needs of all those who seek
support;we are the safety net that nobody else provides.
The primary goal of the Red Cross Disaster Preparedness & Response Program is to recruit,train,and
coordinate volunteers to be on call to provide immediate disaster relief assistance to victims of
disasters and to conduct community disaster education outreach. The Red Cross responds every four
days to disasters in Hawaii, and the immediate and compassionate services reduce the harsh physical
and emotional distress that prevents people from meeting their own basic needs following a disaster.
Response is only the tip of the spear. It takes preparation, resources, and infrastructure to be able to
respond everyday throughout the year. The Red Cross accomplishes this with a small staff and
volunteers. Volunteers need to be recruited beforehand and trained, put on call, and deployed at a
moment's notice whenever there is a disaster. Maintaining a large volunteer workforce requires
resources for recruitment, screening, training and retention. To ensure quality and consistency of
service, volunteers require supervision and coordination. The Red Cross is a very efficient and effective
organization and highly leverages its scarce resources by utilizing 300,000 hours of volunteer time
annually. Without these selfless individuals,the Red Cross would not be able to help all the people
that they do.
55 Ululant Street = Hilo,HI 96720 - Tel:808-935-8305 0 Fax:808-968-3673 6 www.redcross.orglhawaii
Page Two
Red Cross Letter to Hawaii County Council
County of Hawaii non-profit grant funding would be used to support the partial salary and benefits of
our only paid staff person on the Big Island who recruits and trains volunteers,works with volunteers
to secure, inventory, and preposition disaster supplies, ensures that volunteers are mobilized to help
disaster victims on the Big Island,organizes volunteers to conduct community disaster education
outreach, and engages the community in disaster preparedness planning. These duties entail direct
program expenses that are necessary and directly related to our disaster preparedness and response
program efforts on the Big Island. If not all of the funding is received, we may not be able to train as
many volunteers to carry out our humanitarian mission and educate as many individuals about being
prepared for disasters. All disaster response and training are provided to the public free of charge.
In the last fiscal year(7/1/14—6/30/15),the Hawaii Red Cross responded to 16 disasters on the Big
Island and assisted 58 individuals with their Immediate emergency needs, shared critical disaster
preparedness information with 3,349 individuals through community disaster education outreach,
opened 19 shelters and sheltered 1,698 individuals, and maintained a base of 188 active and trained
disaster volunteers. According to the U.S. Census Bureau,from 2010-2014, 18.1%of the County of
Hawaii's population lived below the poverty level. Our records indicate that in FY15, at least 44%of
the disaster families we served on the Big Island were below the poverty guidelines set by the U.S.
Department of Housing& Urban Development. Without the immediate emergency assistance of
trained Red Cross volunteer responders,these poor and needy disaster victims would lack food,
medical supplies, and delayed access to crisis counselors and financial assistance,which could result in
more government resources being needed down the road.
An Investment in community education and capacity building now will help reduce the impact of a
catastrophic disaster and will help save lives. Every$1 invested in pre-disaster preparedness and risk
reduction activities saves over$4 in post-disaster response and recovery expenses (Multihazard
Mitigation Council 2005). While we cannot control the timing of disasters, we can make sure we are as
prepared as possible. Time and again,we have seen that well-prepared communities fare better
following disasters: more lives are saved, less money is required for recovery, and everyone stabilizes
more quickly when a community is resilient(Disaster Resilience:A National imperative, National
Research Council,Washington D.C.: National Academies Press, 2012).
The Red Cross Is dedicated to helping Hawaii families and communities build their capacity to be ready
for emergencies and respond to disasters. For the past 99 years,the Hawaii Red Cross has kept a
simple promise—to be there to alleviate human suffering. As we continue to honor this pledge,the
financial burden also increases with the growing scale and frequency of each passing disaster.
Although we work side by side with police,fire fighters, military and civil defense,we are not a
government agency and receive no funding from the federal or state government for disasters.
Instead,we rely on donations to provide critical services to the community. We humbly ask for your
support,which will sustain the Red Cross' ability to help people through the entire disaster cycle—
preparedness, response and recovery. If you have any questions,.please do not hesitate to contact me
at (808) 739-8103 or Coralie.Matayoshi@redcross.org.
h
warmaloha,
a o a,
Coralie Chun Matayoshi
Chief Executive Officer