HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0774.034 2018-2020 i
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Jewel Castro
COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF HAWAIII
RECEIVED
N MBy
Date JUN 032020
June 2, 2020
Dear Council Chair Aaron Chung and Hawaii County Council Members,
My name is Jewel Castro and I am the Women and Youth Prevention Specialist at the Hawaii
Island HIV/AIDS Foundation in East Hawaii. Thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony
for this Special Meeting of the Hawaii County Council on Thursday, June 4, 2020. 1 would like to
express my firm support for Communication 774.12 introduced by Councilwoman Poindexter,
which proposes to amend Bill No. 144, Draft 3, by increasing the Revenue Account Fund Balance j
from the previous year by$10,000 and increases the Expense Account for the Committee on the
Status of Women, Hawaii County, by$10,000.
I have served on the Hawaii County's Committee for the Status of Women in the past and
understand the value and significances of what the committee does and the difference it makes
in the lives of those that are touched by their works. During the four years that I served on the
committee it was obvious that the amount of funds needed to complete the activities set forth
by the committee was already lacking. To hear that the CSW's budget was going to be cut filled
me with concern. Even though, I no longer serve on the committee, I continue to see the
difference that the work of this committee makes in our community. I have been touch first
hand by the many testimonies and stories of those who have benefited from the services and
resources put forward into our community by the CSW.
One such story, that I can share because it is about a family member of mine, showed me just
how valuable the work of this committee is. One day as I was counting out and stacking into
piles the Cell Phone Safety Cards published by the CSW, I left them out on the desk in our home
office to come back to later. I had a surprised visit by a young family member who had come
home to visit for a few days. Unknown to my husband and me, this person was in an abusive
relationship and was having trouble recognizing it. This person found the Cell Phone Safety
Cards, asked for one to keep, and starting sharing with us that almost everything listed on the
card was happening to this person and this person needed help, but didn't know where to start.
That card saved a life that day. Please understand that even though this is just one story that I
can openly share, there are many more out there.
Know that these women and men that serve on the CSW are saving lives. They may not know it,
but their countless hours of volunteering their time to attend monthly meetings, serve on sub-
committees such as Teen Dating Violence Prevention, Real Women Creative Writing
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Ref.'Ta:
Ref.-Date JUN -.4 20
Competition, Legislative Advocacy, Equal Pay, Hawaii Island Women's Leadership Forum, and
others that may be of need during the current ye4,`19 if f e changir7i or many. The outreach at
community events such as Ladies Night Out, DomesticViolence Vigils, ardommunity Health,
Wellness, and Homeless Fairs are of great value to our island cornhm'Urity. The CSW publishes
and distributes thousands of copies of the Family SerVices Directory_throdghout the community
as well as their Cell Phone Safety Cards. Both resources provide valuable information and
contacts to help in dire situations. The CSW has established working relationships with the
YWCA Hawaii Island, the Zonta Club, and other valuable community groups and agencies. Those
that serve on the CSW come from varying disciplines and has access to great community
resources as well. To leave them without an adequate budget to do what needs to be done is
insulting. The CSW should be recognized as a valued Committee of the County of Hawaii.
I appreciate Councilwoman Poindexter's sponsoring of this amendment to provide funding back
to the budget for the CSW's operation and respectfully ask the full council for your vote of
support on this measure.
Mahalo Nui Loa,
Jewel Castro