Honolulu Community Services Director Resigns
Deputy Director Joy Barua will serve as acting director of the department.
Honolulu Department of Community Services Director Sarah Allen will resign at the end of the month, the city announced in a press release on Wednesday.
Allen was appointed by Mayor Rick Blangiardi earlier this year to lead the department, which administers human services and housing programs to economically disadvantaged individuals and families.
She cited family medical reasons for her departure, the city said. In the interim, Deputy Director Joy Barua will serve as acting director of the department.
鈥淲e thank Sarah Allen for her service to our community and wish her and her family all the best in the future,鈥 Blangiardi said in a statement.
鈥淲e have been planning a reorganization for the past several months involving DCS and our Office of Housing and Homelessness and Sarah鈥檚 decision triggers the opportunity to make this a reality. Affordable housing and homelessness are top priorities in our administration and we will give them all the resources needed to deliver overdue solutions.鈥
Civil Beat tried to reach Allen at DCS on Wednesday but was referred instead to Barua and city spokesman Tim Sakahara.
Allen was previously the state’s chief procurement officer from 2013 through 2020.
