Maui County Chief of Communications and Public Affairs Mahina Martin read a
proclamation declaring Community Action Month in Maui County and praised
the work of the countyʻs Community Action Agency, Maui Economic
Opportunity, at the nonprofitʻs general staff meeting Thursday, April 24.
“So for each of you who are doing the work . . . doing things most of us
benefit from, please know when people say MEO, they know there is an army
of MEO,” Martin told the roomful of staff wearing the nonprofitʻs signature
pink. “And when I hear MEO in the community, what I know is that our
community is being taken care of.
“When I hear MEO, people go ʻOK MEO is going to be there.ʻ ”
MEO has been “Helping People, Changing Lives,” on Maui, Moloka`i and Lana`i
for the past 60 years, one of a thousand Community Action Agencies across
the nation and four in Hawai`i chartered as part of President Lyndon
Johnsonʻs War on Poverty.
Formed in 1965 with two programs, Head Start preschool and a community
organizing arm, MEO has grown to more than 30 programs assisting low
income, kupuna and youth residents and persons with disabilities. The
agencyʻs largest program, MEO Transportation, provides rides through the
Maui Bus paratransit and Maui Countyʻs Human Services specialized
transportation, which takes residents to medical appointments, shopping,
activities, employment and other destinations and offers public
transportation in the rural Moloka`i and Lana`i and in East Maui.
Head Start remains the agencyʻs second largest program. Other departments
include Community Services (rental, utility, employment assistance),
Business Development Center (small business planning and financial literacy
classes, credit counseling, micro-agriculture grants) and Youth Services
(drug/alcohol/smoking, bullying and suicide prevention programs for middle
and high schoolers).
Martin, who was standing in for Mayor Richard Bissen, read a statement from
the mayor, which lauded MEO for its work with those impacted by the
wildfires. MEO administers programs that continue to provide housing,
vehicle, utility, clothing, appliance and school supply help.
“Your work has gone far beyond providing immediate relief,” he said. “You
are really building a future for so many.”
In addressing the staff, some of whom Zoomed in from Moloka`i, Lana`i and
East Maui, CEO Debbie Cabebe addressed worrisome news from Washington,
D.C., about the possible termination of Head Start, the Low Income Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Community Services Block Grant, the
federal seed funding for Community Action Agencies.
“We are in for a fight,” she said, adding that plans to oppose the cuts and
contingencies are being formulated. “I promise you, we are going to get
through this . . . (and) come out of this better.”
Maui Economic Opportunity CEO Debbie Cabebe (left) and Maui County Chief of Communications and Public Affairs Mahina Martin hold Mayor Richard Bissenʻs Proclamation declaring Community Action Month. MEO is Maui Countyʻs Community Action Agency.
MEO staff formed a sea of pink at the general staff meeting Thursday at the nonprofitʻs Wailuku office.
A handful of the 21 members on the MEO Board attended the general staff meeting and reading of the Community Action Month proclamation. They included (from left) Reuben Ignacio; David Raatz; Debbie Cabebe, MEO CEO;
Manny Baltazar; and Kai Pelayo.
Mahina Martin offered a few remarks, including a statement from Mayor Richard Bissen, before reading the Community Action Month proclamation.