Addressing health and housing insecurity
Project Vision’s mobile hot shower unit for houseless individuals.
HONOLULU — Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii has awarded grants totaling $240,000 to 3 local nonprofits serving homeless and at-risk individuals in Hawaii’s most underserved communities. The Hawaii Health & Harm Reduction Center and HOPE Services Hawaii will each receive a $75,000 grant award and Project Vision Hawaii will receive a $90,000 grant award.
Hawaii Health & Harm Reduction Center will use its grant funding to further its mission of providing homeless prevention services to Oahu’s transgender community. The Kuaana Project, HHHRC’s transgender services program, assists individuals in finding access to housing, nutritional services, and physical and mental health care and offers workshops to teach financial literacy and life skills. The Kuaana Project also hosts a community education event, which highlights obstacles that transgender and other sexual and gender minorities face when finding safe and stable housing accommodations.
HOPE Services Hawaii received $75,000 for its Clinical Behavioral Health Program. The program serves rural communities on Hawaii Island with the goal of ending homelessness, poverty, and substance abuse. Funds will be used to improve access to quality and equitable health care by providing clinical assessments, case management, psychiatric services, and substance abuse treatment.
Project Vision Hawaii received $90,000 to expand street access to medicine for low-income individuals experiencing homelessness. Funds will be used to continue their mobile hygiene outreach program, which provides hot showers, street medicine, medical education, and assistance in applying for health insurance. Project Vision operates in encampments, beaches, and parking lots on all 4 major islands.
“At Kaiser Permanente, it’s part of our mission to extend care beyond our hospital and medical facilities,” said Greg Christian, Hawaii market president, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals. “We are honored to work with wonderful community partners to care for these underserved populations.”
Kaiser Permanente is working to improve the conditions for health in the communities it serves. These grants are the latest in a series of contributions from Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii to help residents throughout the state receive vital support services that impact their overall health. In 2022, Kaiser Permanente dedicated over $2.2 million through community grants and scholarships to improve health and wellness in Hawaii.
By Laura M. Lott, Kaiser Permanente
https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/commitments-and-impact/healthy-communities/news/addressing-health-and-housing-insecurity