Official: Homeless Service Can Continue
A daytime activity center for people with mental health issues can keep operating even without the city grant it recently lost out on, its director says.
A nonprofit that provides services to mentally ill homeless people says it will be able to continue to operate its daytime activity center in downtown Honolulu despite missing out on a $175,000 federal grant administered by the city.
Bill Hanrahan, program director at Mental Health Kokua, sent a letter to the city Department of Community Services earlier this week contending that the city wrongly rejected the organization鈥檚 application to fund its daytime activity center for homeless people with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Hanrahan said in an interview Tuesday that the city misinterpreted the federal guidelines governing the Emergency Solutions Grant, and that the grant would have supported 75 percent of the activity center鈥檚 work. He said the denial of funding may force the nonprofit to close those operations.
But Greg Payton, the organization鈥檚 executive director, said Friday the ESG grant had been sought to help the nonprofit expand its services, and that he鈥檚 optimistic the organization will be able to secure other funding. He noted the nonprofit is currently receiving a city grant known as a Grant in Aid through the summer, and is re-applying for it.
鈥淚t’s always nice when you have a substantial grant like ESG but if not, we will manage to pull together other funding to make the services happen,鈥 Payton said. 鈥淚t’s just the nature of the business.鈥
Payton sent an email to state and city officials and nonprofit advocates Friday apologizing for Hanrahan鈥檚 letter criticizing the city and stating that it was unauthorized, although it was written on the nonprofit鈥檚 聽letterhead.
Payton said in an interview that Mental Health Kokua has a 鈥渟ignificant working relationship with the city鈥 and the nonprofit is hoping to move into a city property downtown by October.
