Each year, Aloha United Way provides Safety Net Funding to our nonprofit partner agencies working to provide basic human needs and support people experiencing crisis. To be eligible for Safety Net Funding, the agency must be invested in programs that are working in the following five areas of need:
1. Disaster/Crisis
Provides a broad range of assistance for individuals and families experiencing crisis with the goal of returning the household to stability. The category includes medical care, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, family violence services, and community disaster response provided as one-time or short-term assistance, but may also include ongoing counseling, case management, or care coordination.
2. Food
Provides access to food pantries, food banks, food delivery services, and served meals programs.
3. Rent/Utility
Provides rent (or mortgage) and utility financial assistance. Agencies may pay rent, security deposit, mortgage, and utility expenses to landlords or providers on behalf of eligible clients.
4. Shelter
Provides housing and related support services including emergency, transitional, and permanent housing.
5. Two-year Grants
Supports startup or pilot programs; programs/services with a higher degree of complexity; initiatives with a greater number of stakeholders or partners; initiatives that require substantial time planning; and new programs that are projected to be financially self-sustaining after the initial two years.
Please contact Impact@auw.org for more information.
2023 Safety Net Partners
From January to December of 2023, the following agencies have received Safety Net Funding and are responsible for reporting their usage of the funds received. The 2024 Safety Net Funding application is open until August 31, and accepted partners will be announced in December 2023.
Childcare
~ Child and Family Service
Child & Family Service is a Hawaii-born, impact-driven organization strengthening families since 1899. Our statewide support, counseling, and therapeutic programs help heal trauma, prevent abuse and neglect, and help end cycles of poverty.
Disaster/Crisis Programs
~ Helping Hands Hawai'i
Helping Hands Hawaii helps people strengthen and stabilize their households with access to free living essentials, emergency financial assistance, nutrition benefits, education, representative payee services, and language assistance.
~ IHS, The Institute for Human Services, Inc.
IHS provides critical services to end or prevent homelessness for thousands of people in Hawaii each year; including outreach, emergency shelters, daily meals, housing, employment, case management, and health services.
~ Legal Aid Society of Hawai‛i
The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii provides civil legal services to those in need, including assistance with matters such as housing discrimination, divorce, guardianship, homelessness, and public benefits to residents of Hawaii most in need.
~ Parents and Children Together (PACT)
Parents And Children Together helps equip people with the skills and knowledge to overcome poverty, family and interpersonal violence, parenting, and coming-of-age issues so that they can enjoy health, economic prosperity, and well-being.
~ Waikiki Community Center
Waikiki Community Center provides a dynamic gathering place to serve senior adults, children, residents, visitors, Waikiki employees, and the community in need through various programs and services.
~ Waikiki Health
Our Federally Qualified Health Center targets medically underserved populations, welcoming those who are experiencing homelessness, uninsured, living at or below the poverty level, or who face other barriers to accessing care.
Food Programs
~ Aloha Harvest
Aloha Harvest is one of the largest food rescue and redistribution organizations in the State, with a mission to eliminate hunger and food waste by rescuing quality excess food to feed the hungry in Hawaii.
~ Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii
The after-school hours are a critical time for youth. Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii provides a safe place filled with hope and opportunity, ongoing relationships with caring adult mentors, and enriching programs.
~ Gregory House Programs
Gregory House Programs provides a range of housing services for those who are homeless and at-risk, as well as a food bank program that includes hot lunch/groceries and case management for those living with HIV/AIDS with limited resources.
~ Hawai'i Meals on Wheels
Hawaii Meals on Wheels served Oahu since 1979 with nutritious meals and social interaction with homebound kupuna and the disabled. We served twice as many meals from 7,500 prior pandemic to 15,000 meals per month during COVID.
~ Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services
Kokua Kalihi Valley serves the community of Kalihi with primary care services including medical, dental, behavioral health, optometry, elder care, and maternal child health. We provide unique and holistic community healing programs.
~ St. Francis Healthcare Foundation of Hawai‘i
We work to provide end-of-life hospice care, a call center to connect seniors & their caregivers with programs and services so that they can age in place with dignity, senior wellness programs & a preschool program for low-income students.
~ Susannah Wesley Community Center
SWCC is a beacon of hope where individuals & families embrace opportunities for achieving their dreams. We offer family strengthening & education support, enrichment activities, services to human trafficking victims, & food assistance.
~ The Pantry by Feeding Hawai'i Together
The Pantry is the only e-commerce food pantry in the country operating weekly, year-round, to provide free, nutritious food to the families of Hawaii.
~ Waianae District Comprehensive Health and Hospital Board, Inc.
WCCHC provides primary care, specialists, a 24-hour ER, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, lab, x-ray, homeless outreach, Native Hawaiian healing, and more through clinics located in Waianae, Nanakuli, Waipahu, Kapolei, and Ewa.
~ YMCA of Honolulu
We envision communities where all people achieve their optimal well-being, gain confidence, make connections, and feel secure. We do this through our three areas of focus: Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility.
Healthcare
~ Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii
HMHB answers the call to the challenges in our maternal and infant health crisis - access and continuity to care, and addresses health inequities. HMHB uses a multipronged approach of care that will address both mom and baby as a dyad.
Housing
~ Honolulu Habitat for Humanity
Families in need of safe, affordable housing partner with Habitat to build or improve a place to call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage.
Rent & Utilities
~ Domestic Violence Action Center
DVAC provides crisis support, safety planning, legal representation, onsite court outreach, long-term advocacy, and housing for survivors of family violence, as well as outreach, training, and technical assistance for the community.
~ Helping Hands Hawai'i
Helping Hands Hawaii helps people strengthen and stabilize their households with access to free living essentials, emergency financial assistance, nutrition benefits, and education, representative payee services, and language assistance.
~ The Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division (O'ahu)
The Salvation Army provides critical programs and services including basic needs, food, clothing, and housing; drug and alcohol rehabilitation; youth services; senior care; and emergency disaster services serving 90,000 people annually.
Shelter
~ Domestic Violence Action Center
DVAC provides crisis support, safety planning, legal representation, onsite court outreach, long-term advocacy, and housing for survivors of family violence, as well as outreach, training, and technical assistance for the community.
~ Family Promise of Hawai'i
We provide a safety net for families experiencing housing instability. We utilize family-centered strategies and mobilize community support to competently and effectively increase equitable access to housing for vulnerable families.
~ Hale Kipa Inc
Hale Kipa offers outreach, prevention, emergency shelter, street outreach, independent living, foster care, and treatment services to youth and their families to help them succeed and thrive.
~ Honolulu Community Action Program
Honolulu Community Action Program, Inc. (HCAP) is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, delivering need-based human services to the economically challenged on the island of Oahu since 1965.
~ Ho'ola Na Pua
Ho'ola Na Pua is building a comprehensive and sustainable response to commercial sexual exploitation of children in Hawaii through programs focused on Health, Education, Advocacy, and Reintegration.
~ IHS, The Institute for Human Services, Inc
IHS provides critical services to end or prevent homelessness for thousands of people in Hawaii each year, including outreach, emergency shelters, daily meals, housing, employment, case management, and health services.
~ Mental Health Kokua
Mental Health Kokua offers comprehensive services that enable adults with serious mental illness and homelessness to receive support, find a home, and achieve their best recovery and restoration.
~ Residential Youth Services & Empowerment dba RYSE
We provide low-barrier, wrap-around supportive services for young people experiencing homelessness in a safe, nonjudgmental environment with developmentally appropriate support.
~ Women in Need (WIN)
WIN empowers families who are survivors of domestic violence, homelessness, substance abuse, and incarceration by providing transitional housing and support services.
~ YWCA O'ahu
We envision communities where all people achieve their optimal well-being, gain confidence, make connections, and feel secure. We do this through our three areas of focus: Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility.