The State of Hawaii just announced the new Hawaii Relief Program to provide support for housing and utilities for eligible families with children. The program provides housing or utility payments for families with financial instability due to an unexpected event (e.g., furlough, layoff, medical emergency, natural disaster, etc.). Families do not need to have been on SNAP or TANF to be eligible for this new program. Apply via Catholic Charities: https://www.catholiccharitieshawaii.org/hawaii-relief-program/. There‘s also other resources for those affected by impacts of the federal shutdown, reach out to Aloha United Way’s 2-1-1 to connect with resources: https://auw211.org
Students whose families lost household income due to the federal shutdown may be eligible for free school meals. Families should apply for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program: https://go.hidoe.us/FRPM. (Note: Federal employees who have been furloughed or are not receiving pay should input ‘0’ for income). For your awareness, Federal SNAP benefits will not be distributed in November. Approximately 39,000 HIDOE students’ families receive SNAP benefits. About 10% of our Niu Valley Middle School students are in this situation. These students already receive free school meals and the free school meals will continue without interruption. However, these students will have less access to food at home.
