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Applications are being accepted beginning today for needy residents with children to apply for rent and utility assistance, as federal SNAP benefits for 165,000 island residents are scheduled to be suspended on Saturday at the same time that rent and mortgage payments will come due. Gov. Josh Green announced today that he will provide residents with children up to four months of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding worth $100 million through the new Hawaiʻi Relief Program. The program is designed to help low-income residents with children deal with the suspension of the federal food assistance program at the same that the federal government shutdown continues, resulting in no paychecks for thousands of federal employees in Hawaii who have been lining up at island food banks. Suspending SNAP funding means that nearly $59 million a month in benefits would not be spent in retail grocery stores. Green also plans to provide the Hawai’i Food Bank with $2 million out of the state Department of Human Resources budget. The Food Bank will then distribute the money to its partner food banks on Kauai, the Maui food bank and the Hawaii island Food Basket. Green plans to announce more details about the state’s response to the suspension of SNAP benefits on Thursday. Two state senators on Tuesday questioned state Department of Human Resources representatives on why Green did not plan to dip into the state’s $1.5 billion rainy day fund to replace SNAP and were told that using $100 million of federal TANF could be dispersed quickly and would help low-income residents with rent and utility relief — freeing up cash for them to buy food. In a statement today announcing that applications are being accepted for the Hawai’i Relief Program, Green said: “These are challenging times for working families across Hawaiʻi. No one should go hungry or lose stability because of gridlock in Washington, D.C. Our administration, together with the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, the Department of Human Services, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Department of Education and community partners — is stepping up to ensure everyone in Hawaiʻi has access to food and essential aid during this federal shutdown.” For more information and to apply for the Hawai’i Relief Program from any island, contact: >> Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi for residents on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island by calling 808 521-4357, then press “8” for the Hawaiʻi Relief Program Team; or email hrp.help@catholiccharitieshawaii.org or visit www.catholiccharitieshawaii.org/state-housing-and-utility-program-hup/ >> Residents on Maui, Molokai and Lanai can call Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. at 808 243-4357; emailing the organization at Housing.utility@meoinc.org; visiting www.meoinc.org/; or apply online at app.smartsheet.com/b/form/3d429f59d6874122baedf6fb19d85913 >> Vibrant Hawai‘i also provides resources for anyone impacted by the federal shutdown and can be reached at www.vibranthawaii.org/.
