Schatz: $1 Million to Hawai‘i for Targeted Outreach, PPE in Pacific Islander Communities

US Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaiʻi) announced that Hawaiʻi will receive $1,033,100 to help respond to the COVID-19 pandemic among Pacific Islanders.

According to data from the Hawai‘i Department of Health, Pacific Islander communities have been disproportionately hit by the pandemic making up 31 percent of all COVID-19 hospitalizations in Hawaiʻi, despite being just 4 percent of the state’s population.

The CARES Act grant funding will support community outreach programs in Pacific Islander languages to help families navigate health resources and will also be used to purchase more personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies for Pacific Islander communities.
 
“This grant will help us ramp up targeted community outreach to Pacific Islander families so that they can get the care and resources they need to stay safe,” said Sen. Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Our Pacific Islander communities have been among the hardest hit by this pandemic, so we’ll keep fighting for more federal resources that can help save lives.”
 
This funding will support the ongoing COVID-19 response work of We are Oceania, a local nonprofit that provides culturally and linguistically appropriate community engagement to help eliminate barriers to health services and resources for Pacific Islander families.