Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 10, 1 October 1995 — Alu Like's response to Beamer's column [ARTICLE]

Alu Like's response to Beamer's column

ln the August 1995 Ka Wai Ola O OHA, Alu Like addressed the correction to the inaccurate statements of the June and July columns written by Trustee Billie Beamer. For a second time, pursuant to fair treatment standards in HRS Chapter 84, we seek to correct an inaccurate statement in the September eolumn of Trustee Billie Beamer. The statement in paragraph nine that reads, "Federal and State monies cut from an Alu Like, Papa 01a's and Bishop Estate's onee pet projects are sloughed to OHA."

The services that Alu Like provides under OHA contract for the Multi-service System Project (MSP) and Management and Technical Assistance project (MTA) are established priorities of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in the health and human services and eeonomie development divisions. Additionally, these priorities are identified as high by the eommunity in the recommendations of the Hui 'Imi Task Force report of 1991 and were reinforced again as priorities by community input statewide in September 1994 when OHA conducted its 1995-97 biennium budget meetings throughout the State of Hawai'i. OHA published the priorities and results in the October 1 994 Ka Wai Ola OOHA. OHA's health and human services statement of purpose says, "The health and human services division is to ensure that all

native Hawaiians have full access to information and to appropriate and affordable services enabling health — physieal, mental and emotional as well as social and eeonomie well-being. The division fulfills this purpose by working with suitable partners. ..." Through the MSP contract with Alu Like, services are provided to Hawaiians on O'ahu, Kaua'i, Moloka'i, Hawai'i and Maui who seek information and assistance relating to health and human services, education, job training and employment assistance, and identifies services and service providers to assist Hawaians, identifies island service needs and gaps in eommunity resources and recommends types of interventions that may be appropriate to meet those needs. In this process, Alu Like provides updates to the statewide ASK-2000 and island-based resource directories.

A high priority recommendation of the Hui 'Imi Task Force Report states, "It is recommended that a single point of access to Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian social services information and referral be established." The Multi-service System Project of Alu Like is not a "pet project sloughed to OHA." In this second biennium, the MultiService System Project provides OHA a statewide opportunity to fulfill responsibiIity to Hawaiians while carrying out its division goal.

The Management and Technical Assistance services provided by Alu Like serve the applicants and recipients of the OHA Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund (NHRLF). Alu Like is one of several technical assistance providers statewide assisting applicants and recipients of the NHRLF under contract to the Eeonomie Development division for the second biennium.

Under the contract, Alu Like provides these services on O'ahu, Moloka'i and Hawai'i only. The MTA project of Alu Like is not a "pet project sloughed to OHA." This project provides OHA a statewide opportunity, through the MTA contractors, to fulfill its responsibility to Hawaiians. This project contributes to successful recipients, Hawaiian business owners, to the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund of OHA and advances the Hui 'Imi report recommendation "to support the creation and expansion of Hawaiian small businesses." The potential role of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs remains a significant one, not in isolation, but in cooperation and collaboration with numerous public and private partners, starting with Hawaiian agencies, institutions and services and entities who serve Hawaiians. by S. Haunani Apoliona, President/CEO, Alu Like, ine.