Hawaii Together aims to bring you current and reliable data related to the well-being of Hawaii's citizens, in light of the economic downturn resulting from the events of September 11, 2001. With the oversight of the Hawaii Together data committee, Center on the Family staff led a team of data experts through the indicator selection process. Indicators were selected based on the following criteria:

We are now in the process of tracking a number of indicators posted on this website. It is important to remember, however, that often the effects of catastrophic events such as those of September 11th are not immediately noted in all the data. There has been a desire to identify ‘leading indicators’, the variables that really lead the pack, that give strong hints about what will happen in the future. In the human service field, these would be more intangible and less measured: personal and group anxiety, family coping mechanisms, support network development, or asset accumulation would certainly tell much about the community’s ability to withstand sudden economic distress. In this data set, the unemployment indicators are the only ones that could be considered ‘leading’ as unemployment often leads to financial loss which often leads to need for basic necessities.

Events that mark a negative turning point in our economy often have a "trickle down" effect that takes time and can be long lasting. To illustrate, in the days, weeks and months following September 11th, jobs in the airline and tourism industries were lost as a result of the immediate effect the terror attacks had on travel and tourism. Without delay, that story was reflected in the unemployment data in October and November. However, as Lynn Maunakea illustrated in her Perspective: IHS Anticipates Seeing Increase In Months Ahead, the economic downturn has not had an immediate impact on the number of people seeking shelter services, perhaps because "landing upon a shelter doorstep is not necessarily the first response an individual or family will make upon losing employment or benefits." That is why it is imperative to look at a number of indicators that measure various aspects of the well-being of Hawaii’s citizens, and to examine and analyze the trend data over time as the story unfolds.

In addition to the indicators currently posted on this site, Hawai'i Together is currently working with a number of public and private sources to gather and provide data that will track foodbank donations and usage, homeless counts, requests for substance abuse treatment information, child abuse reports, number of calls to domestic violence hotlines, and number of foreclosures. These indicators will be added to the data site in the weeks ahead.