Federal cuts put our communities at risk

Just when we thought things couldn’t get worse, we now find ourselves in the midst of another nightmare.

With looming federal freezes on funding, services and jobs, CBOs are now faced with the challenge of serving their communities under these increasingly dire circumstances. According to a recent survey conducted by Aloha United Way and the Hawaiʻi Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, potential funding losses from at least 41 identified federal sources across at least 119 individual projects covering the gamut of services were identified by the 85 agencies that responded.

In addition, more families will need unemployment and food support due to pending layoffs. This will also increase outmigration of Hawaiʻi’s most stressed families, negatively impacting over 500,000 Hawaiʻi residents.

The daunting task of finding funding to pay their own employees a living wage continues to fall on CBOs. It is not surprising that many providers are having to apply for the same SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and other benefits as their clients.

Hawaiʻi CBOs’ administrative costs are also on the rise. It is quite disheartening to know that almost a half of our service organizations may close their doors if government contracting falls short.

Diminished support will mean that there will be less case management for those trying to find housing they can afford. Outreach workers won’t be able to go out into our neighborhoods and assist our houseless neighbors. There will be fewer domestic violence advocates to support survivors with the resources they desperately need to start a new life without the threat of violence in their lives.