Lloyd Asato

From its beginning 30 years ago, the Community Clearinghouse has connected thousands of our neediest families with basic living necessities such as donated clothing, furniture, appliances, and other household items free of charge. The Community Clearinghouse partners with hundreds of agencies, organizations and community groups to ensure that our neighbors have the basics household items they need to survive.

Last year, the Community Clearinghouse served 9,123 low-income families statewide. However in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the volume of calls has increased dramatically and the nature of the requests has changed. The amount of requests for assistance that we received increased by 35% in October 2001 versus the previous month. The additional requests have been from those affected by the national tragedy. The first wave that we saw were the working poor, those whose family members have had their hours cut or were laid off. More recent requests have been from those who are in crisis. Families whose savings have run out and whose credit cards are at the limit. These are families who have the basic household necessities but now find themselves in need of assistance - emergency assistance in the form of cash.

AIG Hawai`i Insurance Company recognized the challenge and has partnered with the Community Clearinghouse to help those affected by September 11, 2001. AIG Hawai`i with a donation of $100,000.00 to the Community Clearinghouse has created the AIG Ho`opio Fund. This fund, administered at no charge by Helping Hands Hawai`i, will provide emergency assistance to community members throughout the state who have been affected by September 11, 2001. "The AIG Ho'opio Fund is designed to meet the needs of a growing 'gap' group in Hawai`i: those who have lost their jobs or have had their hours reduced as a result of September 11," Robin K. Campaniano, President and Chief Executive Officer of AIG Hawaii said. "They do not qualify for welfare or other social service programs, but need the assistance to make ends meet during these difficult times."

The AIG Ho`opio Fund, along with monies donated to the Honolulu Advertiser Christmas Fund and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin Good Neighbor Fund, will provide nearly $300,000.00 in emergency assistance this year. However, recent reports that cite nearly 50,000 new unemployment claims since September 11, 2001, mean that even this amount may not be enough.

These are complex times with complex problems. Helping Hands Hawai`i will continue to play our role through our many programs, but it will take all of us working together to truly make a difference. The move from coordination to cooperation to true collaboration requires a management and information infrastructure that will allow us to partner in meaningful ways. I propose we build that and nurture a culture of collaboration so that we may bring our complex set of solutions to address the critical needs of our community.