By Celia K. Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald Hope Services Hawaii, a nonprofit agency that works to reduce homelessness and help the unhoused on Hawaii island, has again received a significant grant to boost its reach and impact. Hope Services was given $2.5 million from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund, an annual grant that distributes […]
Official notices: Oct. 25, 2024
Bishop’s schedule 25, 6 p.m., Knights of Columbus Hawaii Columbus Day Dinner, Hawaii Okinawa Center, Waipio. 26, 6:15 a.m., meeting of the board of trustees for St. Patrick’s Seminary & University (video conference); 10 a.m., Deacon Council Meeting (video conference); 5 p.m., Mass with Missionary Families of Christ at St. Elizabeth Church, Aiea. 27, 9:30 […]
HOPE Services Hawaii reaches people where they are
By Celia K. Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald More than two decades after it became its own nonprofit organization, HOPE Services Hawaii continues to grow and to broaden its efforts to help people experiencing homelessness on Hawaii island. In 2024 alone, the agency has made strides in expanding its network of support sites and has also […]
Talk story: Helping the poor is a key part of helping the earth
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY “Let us pray for the cry of the earth. If we took the planet’s temperature, it would tell us that the earth has a fever. And it is sick, just like anyone who’s sick. Are we listening to this pain?” (from Pope Francis’ prayer intention video, “For the Cry of the […]
Volunteers help 20 homeless locals move into shelters
Hawaii Catholic Herald KAILUA-KONA — Twenty longtime Hawaii residents moved into HOPE Services shelters last month, receiving a reprieve from life without a roof, running water or safety. The residents had pitched 11 tents outside the Kona Community Aquatic Center. They told outreach workers they had previously taken refuge in the bushes at the Old […]
HOPE Services breaks ground for kupuna housing project in Puna
Diocese of Honolulu-affiliate HOPE Services Hawaii broke ground April 16 for the Sacred Heart Affordable Housing Project, the first affordable housing development dedicated to kupuna in the Big Island’s Puna district. The project is on land adjacent to Sacred Heart Shelter, the micro-shelter village next to Sacred Heart Church in Pahoa built for people displaced […]
Housing is healthcare
HOPE Services director invites lawmakers to join her in standing up for the homeless By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald The talk was one of confidence and hope, delivered to a congregation considerably thinned by social distancing. It was also an invitation. “I need your help in showing compassion for the vulnerable, to advocating for […]
Red Mass address: Relationships and partnerships
Our goal is a simple one: for homelessness to be rare, brief and non-recurring By Brandee Menino CEO of HOPE Services Hawaii Here are excerpts from the prepared text of this year’s Red Mass address delivered by Brandee Menino on Jan. 19 at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace. Menino is CEO of […]
HOPE Services Hawaii director to speak at Red Mass
By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald Brandee Menino, whose achievements in the battle against homelessness on the Big Island are fueled by her driving optimism, aloha and a surplus of hope, will share her passion with Hawaii lawmakers and other civic leaders at the 9 a.m. Red Mass, Jan. 19, in the Cathedral Basilica of […]
A meal, a message, a prayer
East Hawaii Island parishes extend Christmas greetings to HOPE Services Hawaii shelter guests By Gwen DeCoito Special to the Herald This Christmas, East Hawaii Island parishes delivered 120 hot lunches “to go” to six homeless shelters managed by HOPE Services Hawaii in Pahoa and Hilo. By noon on Christmas Day, each shelter guest had received […]