not to get political but im begging you guys to stop coming to hawaii. in maui theyre asking to put a 'pause' on flights bc we literally do not have enough room or staff to service you. the roads are so full that its causing a major backup when ppl need to get to work.
on top of this, i heard that by September? theyre expecting to get rid of the mask rule (if 70% of ppl are vaccinated/all goes well) but ill be honest w/ you, i know many locals arent getting the vaccine and i know plenty of tourist arent gonna take the necessary precautions.
homeless hawaiians aren’t even allowed to sit or lay on sidewalks to keep up the “paradise” image for tourists
“but hawai’i’s economy is tourism-dependent!!!1! we’re sTiMuLaTiNg tHe eCoNoMy!!” okay if you’re really that worried about food/hospitality/entertainment service industry workers, houseless people, etc. (pretty much any other population y’all would use as “justification”) that you’re ready to jump on a plane to spend your dollars in hawai’i.......can i just suggest some other options for directing your resources that DON’T needlessly expose people who might not have the same protections as you (health insurance, money to cover the expense of recovery time off work, extended family networks to support them in healing/childcare/funerals)???
NOTE: These are fairly Honolulu/O’ahu specific, so if anyone has any other links/leads for other islands please add!!! Or any additional links for serving O’ahu. I tried to do organizations that are in need of funding due to size of operation and/or are not as well-publicized, and I tried to avoid including church/faith-based orgs (but I’m happy to provide an expanded list including some actually good ones)
For worker protection: Unite Here Local 5 — specifically their Hardship Fund to support frontline workers in hotel, healthcare, and food service (https://uniteherelocal5.org/)
For people facing housing insecurity: IHS/Institute for Human Services (https://ihshawaii.org/donate)
Donate - IHS, The Institute for Human Services
For people facing food insecurity: The Pantry (https://thepantry.org) and Ho’okua’āina—a really cool family-owned farm that provides community meals and produce at low/no cost (https://www.hookuaaina.org)
Rebuilding Lives From The Ground Up
The Pantry | Feeding Hawai’i Together | Food for Those in Need
For kupuna (elders)/those living with disabilities and facing food insecurity: Malama Meals Community Care Meal Program (http://www.malamameals.org/) and Lanakila Meals on Wheels (https://www.lanakilapacific.org/donate)
For medical care: Hawai’i Health & Harm Reduction Center - ***personal fave, they do a lot of good in the community*** (https://www.hhhrc.org/donate)
DONATE | HHHRC
For women and families: Aloha Diaper Bank (https://www.alohadiaperbank.org/) and WIN/Women In Need Hawaii (https://www.winhi.org) and PACT/Parents and Children Together Hawaii (https://pacthawaii.org/donate/)
Donate - Parents And Children Together
Women in need is a non profit organization that currently helps victims of domestic violence, homelessness, substance abuse, incarceration a
Aloha Diaper Bank: Donate
Donate
Mālama Meals
Supporting Hawaii’s Essential Workers
The Kauai Food bank is focusing on providing some holiday meals to the elderly and students this year, they partner with local farmers so that they can feed everyone fresh produce.
Donate to the Kaua'i Independent Food Bank
