Hui Hoaka and Emergency Assistance Program

Our staff collected patient stories while making deliveries.

“I am so happy to see KKV,” said one woman who received a delivery; “I don’t work and my husband is in the nursing home and I can’t see him, so seeing you all has made my heart full.”

Another asked our staff, ʻWhy would you be helping my mom, out of all the moms? I canʻt pay. I donʻt have any money.” We responded: “We are helping everyone. We are all family. You donʻt have to pay anything, weʻll be back next week to deliver. We might require you to smile but thatʻs all we need for payment.”

The deliveries made an impact on KKV staff as well. One staff member explained, “I felt so special that the family remembered my name, that they were looking forward not just to receive the food but to see me. I felt loved and that I belonged.”

KKV has been responding to Kalihi’s COVID outbreak since March of 2020, when staff reorganized services to meet the urgent health, social, economic and cultural needs of our community. COVID19 hit our community harder than almost any other in Hawaii. In August, for example, KKV tested nearly 1,000 patients for COVID, with a positivity rate of 30% (some days higher than 60%).

Through a combined effort of Elder Care, medical, dental, and behavioral teams, Ho’oulu ‘Aina, Roots, and KKV’s Youth Programs, we not only tested patients in our Na Koa clinic, but delivered supplies, meals, and fresh organic produce. Here are some of the numbers:

• Over 3,000 care packages of food staples such as rice, oatmeal, canned protein, ensure for seniors, and a range of other supplies such as diapers, masks, cleaning products

• 2,330 hot, nutritious meals with enough food to feed up to four people.

• La’au lapa’au medicinals including olena to boost immunity and support patient healing

• We made more than 255 “no contact” home deliveries to COVID+ patients and families (July to November 1). In many cases the care packages were so large it took three people to deliver.

• KKV partnered with other organizations including Kamehameha Schools, and Aloha Harvest – a grant partnership that enabled KKV to provide hot meals to almost 900 people in November.

As COVID+ cases surged in Kalihi Valley, KKV began a new program to provide emergency financial assistance to families starting in October. In total, KKV was able to provide $308,000 in financial assistance to pay for housing, utilities, car payments, and even funerals for patients and their families.