All faith congregations are invited to attend a “Hawaii Faith-Based Summit on Homelessness,” which will address how to help homeless or mentally ill people who come on to church campuses.
Co-sponsored by the Institute for Human Services and The Interfaith Alliance Hawai‘i, the conference will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 14 at Central Union Church, 1660 S. Beretania St. It is limited to the first 150 registrants. A $35 donation is suggested to cover costs and meals. Registration will be accepted up to and including the day of the conference if there are any openings remaining; drop-in attendance at any of the workshops or talks will depend on space available. Register at 808ne.ws/1QHnQrF.
Connie Mitchell, IHS executive director, will give a talk titled “The Changing Face of Homelessness: Lessons Learned These Past 37 Years.” And state Attorney General Doug Chin will speak about legal issues tied to sheltering the homeless. Morning and afternoon workshops will be offered.
Jerry Coffee and Justin Phillips of IHS will lead a workshop on what to do when homeless persons come to a congregation’s campus. The discussion includes how to best care for someone experiencing a mental health crisis, as well as how to understand and respond to addiction.
Other workshop topics will cover partnering with nonprofit and government service providers and how to address issues ranging from housing policy to living wages. Legislative bills and policy changes also will be discussed.
Service providers are welcome to set up a table for an informational fair. In advance of the summit, clergy are asked to provide a list of any services or resources provided by their organizations to Terry Yasuko Ogawa, IHS chaplain and community liaison, via email to TerryO@ihs-hawaii.org. Information will be consolidated and disseminated at the conference.
For more information, call Ogawa at 447-2842. Donations can be mailed to IHS, 546 Kaaahi St., Honolulu 96817.
Salvation Army holiday campaign nets $865,655, thousands of gifts
The Salvation Army’s Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division raised $865,655 across the region during its annual Red Kettle campaign and more than 39,000 Angel Tree gifts during the 2015 holiday season.
In a news release, Maj. John Chamness, divisional leader, said: “The monetary donations in our Red Kettles allow our much-needed social service programs to continue and can expand this year. And the generous monetary gift and in-kind donations to our Angel Tree program meant that there were many smiles on Christmas morning across the islands.”
Central Pacific Bank collected more than $159,000 in monetary and gift donations for the Angel Tree program. Burger King Hawaii, in partnership with Aloha United Way, collected more than $14,000 in monetary donations to support the keiki portion of the program, the release said.
In addition to Hawaii, the Salvation Army’s Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division covers Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. Among the division’s programs are adult day health services, affordable senior housing, at-risk youth services and housing, a camp and conference center, family stores, food distribution and feeding programs as well as homeless services.
For more information, call 988-2136 or visit hawaii.salvationarmy.org.
