Dan Chun Susan Au Doyle

When tragedy struck our country on September 11, it was hard for us to imagine the widespread effects it would have on life in Hawai`i. Things were challenging before September 11th, and with the downturn in our economy, many people are facing even greater challenges than before. And we expect to see these and new challenges created by September 11 for months to come. At the same time, the outpouring of help individuals and organizations have offered has been tremendous and inspiring. Neighbors, churches, business, health and human service agencies, government-many people have given of their time, talent and treasure to help those in need. In October 2001, Governor Ben Cayetano appointed a community task force to help assure our best collective response to the health and human service challenges presented by September 11. Guided by our knowledge of who uses, supports and delivers health and human services, the Hawai`i Together task force is comprised of more than 40 volunteers from a broad cross-section of the community-governmental, philanthropic, business, faith, educational, and not-for-profit groups and organizations.

There are many moving parts to this picture, to be sure. Through the task force we are coming together in new ways to identify needs and fill gaps in services. We are working across sector barriers to consider changes in the way we allocate resources. We are making information about existing resources more accessible to individuals and organizations. We are making good data about our social condition more available so that everyone can have a firm basis for decision-making and action. In the short term, people are working to fill emergency gaps in service.

But Hawai`i Together is more than a task force. Hawai`i Together is an idea, the idea that all of us-working together with the resources we bring from all sectors of our community-can improve the way we provide for the health and human service needs of all of our residents now and in the future.

How we do this-and how well-is up to us. Each of us individually has resources to bring to this effort. We need to think differently than we may have before about what is "ours," about what is "our" responsibility. We need to get used to the idea of not only having opinions about what "they" should be doing about something, but what we can do to help "them" make those improvements a reality. Our willingness each to do what we are able to do, to be willing to act constructively and collectively on our best ideas, to take individual responsibility and be willing to work together, is what Hawai`i Together is all about.

Our goal is that Hawai`i Together will disappear as a task force and become instead a way of life in Hawai`i. By working together, building on the strengths of our communities, and with God`s help, we can weather these challenging times and emerge stronger and better than ever before.