Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 7, 1 July 1997 — OHA Updates [ARTICLE]

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OHA Updates

Assistance for Hawaiians with disabilities | Welfare reform is here. | The five-year eloek has started | ticking for those who were on [ the public assistance roles on I December 1996. Half a year I has passed and a 20% reduction in financial assistance for I the majority of public assisI tance recipients has already occurred. Why the eoneem? | Native Hawaiians are the K largest racial group with: - families below the poverty level (family of 4 with I ineome of $16,500 or less) B - famihes on public assis- | tance and K - individuals 200% below B the poverty level ■ On ]une 30, 1997, an esti- ■ mated 1,804 disabled HawaiB ians may have been dropped r from the general assistance I program. Should this be the B case, more Hawaiian house-

holds will fall below the poverty level. There are more than 27,000 Hawaiian households in the state whieh could be affected: - 12% of these Hawaiian households have less than a $15,000 ineome - 7% married-couple native Hawaiian families in this group were below the poverty level - 35% native Hawaiian families headed by a female householder (no husband present) were below the poverty level. Of the individual households, 15% are below the poverty level. The source for these statistics is the Native Hawaiian Data Book 1996. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has awarded Legal Aid Society of Hawai i $100,000 to assist disabled Hawaiians facing a cut in state general assis-

tance. Legal Aid will assist the blind, mentally and physically disabled and the aged with the application process for federal funds. Call the nearest Legal Aid office on your island for more information. On HawaLi Island 961-2851 (Hilo)329-8331 (Kailua-Kona); Kaua i 2454728; Lānavi 565-6089; Maui 244-3731; Moloka i 553-3251; Ovahu 536-4302 (central), 2396651 (windward), 696-6321 (leeward). Alu Like's Multi-Service Information and Referral Project, whieh is funded in part by OHA, assesses resource needs and provides referrals. If you need information related to services for health, day-care, counseling, etc., please eall 961-2625 for HawaiM Island; 245-8545 on Kaua i; 242-9774 on Maui; 553-5393 on Moloka i; 535-6720 on O ahu.