As the federal welfare programs are slated to halt in November during the federal government shutdown, state programs will attempt to fill in the gaps.
Gov. Josh Green announced Wednesday that about 165,000 Hawai‘i residents currently depend on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which will be temporarily cut beginning Saturday, Nov. 1, as the federal government shutdown continues.
Consequently, Green announced that the state has opened applications for the “Hawai‘i Relief Program,” a stopgap program intended to provide housing and utility benefits to low-income households.
The program is a partnership between the state Department of Human Services, Department of Education, Office of Hawaiian Affairs and other state agencies, alongside including Catholic Charities Hawai‘i and Maui Economic Opportunity Inc.
Eligible households can apply for housing or utility assistance in multiple forms. The program offers one-time deposits for housing or utilities — up to $6,000 for housing and up to $3,000 per utility — or recurring payments over a period of up to four months. Those recurring payments would cap out at $6,000 total for housing assistance and at $2,000 total for utilities.
Eligibility will be limited only to Hawai‘i “families” — defined as an adult biological or adoptive relative residing with a dependent child under 18 years old, or a pregnant woman with no dependent child in her third trimester — who fall under certain income limits and “demonstrate an episode of need or financial crisis.”
A family of four, for example, needs to make less than $110,940 annually to qualify.
The financial crisis or episode of need, meanwhile, could be incidents such as a loss of employment or income, medical emergencies, death of a wage-earning family member, natural disaster, or others.
A family does not need to have received SNAP or other benefits to qualify. In fact, the state Department of Human Services advises that a family currently receiving housing or utility assistance from other programs may be ineligible for the Hawai‘i Relief Program.
The program is separate from the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which has different eligibility requirements and application processes.
Meanwhile, Green announced that the DHS has provided $2 million to Hawai‘i foodbank to continue food assistance across the state. Those funds, Green’s announcement read, will be used to bolster food banks during the lapse in federal support.
“These are challenging times for working families across Hawaiʻi. No one should go hungry or lose stability because of gridlock in Washington, D.C.,” Green said in a statement.
Residents on O‘ahu, Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i Island can apply via Catholic Charities Hawai‘i, while residents on Maui, Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i can apply through Maui Economic Opportunity Inc. Further details about the program can be found here.
