Page 5 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Sep 7 2022

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Organization Celebrates 75 Years Of Charitable Excellence
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The ’90s brought more spe- cialized programs, including for those affected by domestic violence, babies with complex medical issues, expectant moth- ers with nowhere to go and child welfare. Providing care for these often-overlooked and vulnera- ble populations is at the heart of what Catholic Charities Hawai‘i
“We wanted to make sure there was affordable housing that was safe, dignified and that people could afford to stay in Hawai‘i,” says Andrade, who adds that, in the next year, the organization will have built nearly 700 units on O‘ahu and Maui.
“We want to be around for another 75 years,” says Leong Saunders. “I would love to work myself out of job, which means there’s no longer a need for social services, but I think that people will always have a need in different periods of
Catholic
Charities Hawai‘i’s breadth of programs cover housing and homelessness, ku¯puna, mental health, family and youthand more. Its offices are located at 62 Kino‘ole St. in Hilo and 73-5618 Maiau St. Ste. B201 in Kailua-Kona. For more information, visit:
catholiccharitieshawaii.org
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Through its rental assistance program, Catholic Charities Ha- wai‘i rolled out more than $120
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In the latter half of the decade, Catholic Charities Housing De- velopment Corp. was formed, which allowed the organization to build homes from the ground up to provide residents with a stable place to live.
“We’ve always looked at what the emerging needs were at the time,” says Leong Saunders. “What we did 75 years ago is not what we’re doing now, and what we did 10 years ago proba- bly looks a little bit different, too. Even though we have our core val- ues, when things change and the needs of the community change, we have to change with it.”
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SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 5
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the nonprofit created an extensive immigration and refugee program to help those affected adapt to a new life.
million to thousands of local residents who were financially impacted during the pandemic. They had to double their staff and it was all hands on deck, as Leong Saunders remembers it.
their lives for a hand up. That’s something that Catholic Charities has been able to provide for 75 years.”
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“We partnered with parishes who adopted families to take them in and help them get adjusted, and many of them are successful busi- ness owners today, having learned a second language and were re- united with their families,” says Andrade.
“We all jumped in and partic- ipated, even the executive man- agement team,” she says. “I was answering all of the questions that were coming through our website, and that isn’t something that the VP of philanthropy would normally do. It was a lot of work ... but it felt really good to be a part of it.”
Van Tassell adds, “We all look forward to being together and cel- ebrating as we carve out our path for the next 75 years,” he says. “There’s a lot of hope. If I could summarize it in one word for us, it’s hope. We’re a community of hope sharing hope with others — and will continue to do that.”
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Catholic Charities Hawai‘i’s wide range of programs span from kūpuna services (left) to housing for local families (right). PHOTOS COURTESY CATHOLIC CHARITIES HAWAI‘I
The ’80s, meanwhile, were centered around helping individ- uals and families to evade home- lessness, as well as assisting those already affected.
is all about.
“We serve the little niches of
Fast-forward to when the pandemic hit and everything — people and entities alike — were forced to evolve. Some struggled to find their place in the current state of the world, but this was nothing new to Catholic Charities Hawai‘i, which had been doing that for 75 years.
They say if you love what you do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. Van Tassell and his staff are evidence of that sen- timent, and, given the chance, they probably wouldn’t want to be off the clock anyway, when serving the people of Hawai‘i
“A lot of people were calling us looking for help for rent and utilities because it was already be- coming difficult then,” says An- drade. “When I think about that, I realize it’s been a long time that we’ ve been dealing with home- lessness and housing.”
the community that are high-risk and that other people aren’t real- ly providing services for,” says Leong Saunders. “But every- thing we do is because the need is there.”
The majority of these programs of the past are still in full swing today (and not one was lost to the pandemic). But the organization is always looking toward the fu- ture, prepared for whatever may come its way. Proceeds from its 75th anniversary gala, for exam- ple, will benefit senior services, West O‘ahu outreach and foster youth programs.
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