#scott morishige

Maui County’s food assistance system faces a crippling double crisis starting Nov. 1: federal budget gridlock will halt monthly SNAP payments for more than 18,600 residents, even as the state is forced to implement a new set of strict federal work and eligibility rules. The immediate response is Gov. Josh Green’s emergency Hawaiʻi Relief Program, launched Wednesday to provide temporary housing and utility assistance.

The Food and Nutrition Service notified states Friday that all November SNAP benefit allotments are suspended until sufficient federal funding is appropriated or the agency issues updated direction. 

Maui County taxpayers spent $240,000 for a “homeless strategic plan,” but that’s not what they got. On Monday, officials told Maui County Council members that the county’s all-hands-on-deck response to the devastating August 2023 wildfires made creating that plan “infeasible,” leading instead to a “community-informed report” titled “Recommendations to Address Homelessness in Maui County.” Now, […]

In an effort to improve homeless outreach programs in Hawaiʻiʻs rural areas, the procurement office and department of human services will be holding workshops for service providers across the islands next month.

Governor David Ige on Monday announced that Scott Morishige will join the administration on August 24th as the state’s point person for homelessness.