Reverend Larry Silva, Bishop | Diocese of Honolulu

Hope Services Hawaii conducted an outreach mission early Saturday afternoon to help unsheltered Hilo residents prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Hone.

After attending a Civil Defense briefing earlier in the day, Hope CEO Brandee Menino and her agency set out in groups of two and three and fanned out across Hilo. The teams offered rides to the storm shelter operated by the County of Hawaii and the American Red Cross, which was located at the Waiakea High School Gym. The agency also distributed supplies to those who preferred to weather the storm outdoors.

While Menino was in the Civil Defense briefing, Hope’s outreach team leader Carrie Hoʻopiʻi and staff were out shopping for extra supplies. “We were getting tarps, food, water, flashlights, ponchos, bandages, towels, dog food–anything to help them ride out the storm in safety, and hopefully make it a little more comfortable,” Hoʻopiʻi said. “We know not everyone will choose to go to the shelter so we want to respect that choice and still care for them the best we can.”

“We were handing out supplies and talking story, and we made connections and assisted them into shelter,” continued Hoʻopiʻi.

It was a significant operation, with over two dozen staff stepping up for a shift they weren’t scheduled to work. “Some of our colleagues signed up to come straight off a 12-hour shelter shift, to do another four-hour shift out in the community,” said Menino. “We want to mahalo them for their compassion and determination to make sure people are safe.”

In total, the Hope team shuttled 10 people they encountered to the temporary shelter, while five others were able to get there on their own. The team also admitted one person to Hope’s women’s shelter. About 30 people wished to stay outside and were offered supplies and directions in case they changed their minds and decided to go to the shelter later.

As of Sunday morning 15 houseless people were sheltering at the Waiakea High Gym.

The Food Basket was at the gym Sunday, passing out groceries including meals, lunchables, bags of apples, bread, lunch meat, cheese, energy bars, breakfast foods, juice and water.

Kristin Frost Albrecht, The Food Basket’s Executive Director said: “As Hawai’i Island’s food bank we are always prepared and ready to respond to disaster or crisis with food resources — and work in tandem with the County of Hawai’i and their emergency response team.”

“The Food Basket is here to help our island neighbors with food resources in times of need,” Albrecht continued. “Please give us a call at 808-933-6030 or email us at info@hawaiifoodbasket.org for assistance.”

Hope Services also continued its outreach efforts Sunday. “We’re revisiting people who declined shelter to see how they fared through the night and offering services to those we couldn’t locate yesterday,” said Menino.

Hope Services received financial assistance from Hawaii Community Foundation to support this mission.

Anyone wishing to support and expand these services for our unsheltered neighbors can donate to Hope Services at www.hopeserviceshawaii.org or The Food Basket at www.hawaiifoodbasket.org.

About Hope Services Hawaiʻi:

Hope Services Hawaiʻi is an affiliate non-profit organization of the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaiʻi providing housing-focused services including outreach emergency shelter and affordable housing in order to make homelessness on Hawaiʻi Island rare brief and nonrecurring. If you or someone you know have been evicted or is currently experiencing homelessness call the Hope helpline at 808-935-3050. Help end homelessness by visiting hopeserviceshawaii.org/donate.