Expanded Disaster Case Management Program announced for statewide services

Gov. Josh Green and the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency announced Friday the expansion of the Statewide Disaster Case Management Program to include households affected by Hurricane Lowell and Hurricane Lala. The program has already been serving those affected by the Kona earthquake and Kona Low storms.

Disaster Case Management Programs connect survivors of disasters with specially trained case managers to help assess and address their needs, by developing a disaster recovery plan. Disaster case managers provide guidance and refer survivors to available resources. The expansion enables households affected by these recent disasters to access coordinated case management services including housing navigation, financial recovery planning, connection to federal and state benefits and referrals to community-based organizations equipped to provide long-term, localized support.

The expanded Statewide Disaster Case Management Program is led by the Hawaiʻi emergency agency and supported by multiple community-based organizations. This includes Aloha United Way, Global Empowerment Mission and Family Promise of Hawaiʻi to administer the program, as well as Aloha House, Catholic Charities of Hawaiʻi, Our Kupuna, Partners in Development Foundation, Project Vision and Vibrant Hawaiʻi to provide additional direct services on each island. This expanded program will deploy over 80 disaster case managers to help support anyone affected by these recent disasters.

Anyone in need of support can connect with the Statewide disaster case management by calling 211 or emailing contact@hawaiidcmp.org. A member of the case management team will work with you to determine eligibility, understand your recovery needs and help guide you to the resources that you need. For more information, visit ready.hawaii.gov.

“This has been an unprecedented time in Hawaiʻi, with several natural disasters impacting our state in rapid succession. We are working quickly to align the state’s resources to ensure that everyone impacted will have the support they need to recover,” Green said. “By bringing those affected by Hurricane Lowell and Hurricane Lala into our Statewide Disaster Case Management Program, we’re ensuring that every person affected has a case manager in their corner and a clear path forward toward recovery.”

“Our case management model was designed to scale,” said Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency Administrator David Lopez. “The systems, partnerships and local capacity we’ve built with community-based organizations across the state mean we can bring everyone affected by these recent disasters into a program that already works—without our people and communities losing time waiting for something new to stand up.”