Puna Strong grants awarded
The County of Hawaii and Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF) recently announced the award of $380,000 to 26 organizations through the Puna Strong grants program.
Puna Strong takes a community-based disaster management approach that values the knowledge and capacities of residents and builds on local resources. In addition to providing grants, the county and HCF will work with intermediaries in the community to assist with technical support, peer learning and network building among recipients.
The county and HCF launched Puna Strong in January to assist with disaster readiness and community resilience, both strategies identified in the Kilauea Recovery and Resilience Plan, following the 2018 Kilauea eruption. It is supported by $250,000 from the county’s recovery funds and $130,000 from HCF’s Hawaii Island Volcano Recovery Fund, Hawaii Island Strong Fund and Anderson-Beck Fund.
Projects supported by the program include development of resilience hubs, disaster response activities, support for homeless children, jobs and skills development, and many others.
Receiving grants were Ahava Aina, Arts &Sciences Center, Big Island Invasive Species Council, Boys and Girls Club of Big Island, Equality HI, Fern Acres Community Association, Food Ingredient and Health Research Institut, Girls to Women Mentoring Hawaii, Grassroots Church Pahoa, The Green Will Conservancy, Hawaii Animal Kuleana Alliance, Hawaii Tracker, Hawaii’s Volcano Circus, Kanaka O Puna, Kua O Ka La, Kukulu Kumuhana o Puna, Kurtistown Assembly of God, Malama O Puna, O Maku‘u Ke Kahua Community Center, Orchidland Neighbors, Pohaha I Ka Lani, Project Hawaii, Puna Canoe Club, Puna Rising, Uncle’s Kokua Center, and Volcano Friends Feeding Friends.
For more information visit www.recovery.hawaiicounty.gov/resources/recovery-grants.
NAMI hosts Family Support Groups
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Hawaii’s Big Island affiliate leads Family Support Groups at 6 p.m. on the last Friday of each month via Zoom.
The support groups connect families with other families who have struggled with the mental illness of their loved ones or people living in recovery from mental illness. It provides a means to come together, in a safe and comfortable setting, to share struggles, promote hope and build a better tomorrow.
The Family Support Groups are for caregivers or supporters of family or loved ones with mental health conditions. The meetings are free and confidential, and safe groups for individuals 18 years or older.
To sign up for the next support group on May 28, contact Carol Denis, NAMI Hawaii volunteer, at bigisland@namihawaii.org or call (808) 935-0615.
For more information, visit www.namihawaii.org.