Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 7, 1 July 2020 — PEREZ, Brittny [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PEREZ, Brittny

Nonpartisan Special AGE: 26 © Home Health Aid © brittny@brittnyperezforoha.org ® www.brittnyperezforoha.org

lj 1. The issues facing our ,* community today are ^ reclaiming ceded lands, g the preservation of our jt culture, and human trafL ficking. Today we are I witnessing a wave of I Native Hawaiians doing I everything they ean to reclaim their rightful

lands. We need to reclaim a lot of our culture and a huge part of that would be to implement Hawaiian language back into the public schools. With 64% of the homeless population identifying as Hawaiian and 75% of trafficked victims reporting they were homeless, we are systematically endangering our native population. 2. One of my skills is communication, we currently see a laek of communication between trustees and OHA. Both sides have become very frustrated with eaeh other over poor communication and that is a major issue I intend to rectify. Another one of my skills is my ability to use technology, I believe using technology to reach our beneficiaries needs better implementation. We should be taking advantage of technology to better serve our beneficiaries in guiding them to receive the benefits they qualify for not just in OHA but outside resources as well. 3. The lease hold of Mauna Kea needs to be revoked immediately from the University of Hawai'i and they should not be allowed to renew their lease. Building permits for the the telescope on Mauna Kea need to be suspended, investigated for corruption and voided.