MEO to provide financial education, credit counseling to fire survivors

Maui Economic Opportunity will provide money management education, credit counseling and debt management assistance to wildfire survivors with an American Red Cross grant.

The $1.4 million grant runs through July 2025. It includes two other nonprofits – Texas-based Money Management International and O‘ahu-based Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. MEO’s portion of the grant is about $300,000.

The grant’s goal is to provide financial education and housing counseling to ensure that those impacted by the wildfires have the tools to recover and rebuild, the Red Cross said in a news release.

MEO’s Business Development Center has been offering adult and youth financial literacy classes for years, covering money management, personal credit and basic investment information. Center staff also are certified credit counselors with debt management skills.

Workshops and services are offered on Maui, Moloka‘i, and Lana‘i at no cost to participants.

Earlier this week, 12 youth completed the two-day Teen Financial Literacy workshop at the J. Walter Cameron Center. The instructors were center specialist Lianne Peros-Busch and American Savings Bank Kehalani Foodland Branch Manager Jaimie Dukelow. The teen workshop is typically offered during fall and summer breaks. Center specialists also have taken the workshop to Maui High and will be offering the curriculum at King Kekaulike High School. 

“This grant from the American Red Cross taps into a strength of our Business Development Center with financial education and credit counseling,” said MEO Chief Executive Officer Debbie Cabebe. “In addition, we have worked with the American Red Cross on relief efforts in Lahaina and Kula.

“Partnerships are an integral piece of MEO’s work in the Maui County community. Grants such as this broadens MEO’s reach. We are gratified that national organizations, like the American Red Cross, trust MEO and work we do.”