WAILUKU, HI – Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO) continues to support Maui
wildfire survivors through specific services and programs, including the
Disaster Stabilization Grant funded by the Hawai`i Community Foundation’s
Maui Strong Fund.
The Disaster Stabilization Grant provides up to $25,000 in direct financial
support to Maui wildfire survivors to assist with their unmet needs for
housing, utilities, transportation, home restoration and health care costs.
“Since the wildfires, we’ve helped to house over 1,000 families with the
help of the Maui Strong Fund,” said MEO CEO Debbie Cabebe. “We continue to
assist the most vulnerable members in our community with the various
struggles they face, including low-income individuals, persons with
disabilities, youth and kupuna across Maui Nui.”
With support of Hawai`i Community Foundation (HCF), MEO will be putting out
short videos, providing information about the work of the agency and role
the Maui Strong Fund has played in the recovery. The videos featuring
Cabebe will appear on the MEO’s social media sites and website.
The first video can be found at MEO – Debbie Cabebe
MEO also continues to offer housing, vehicle, energy, appliance, clothing
and school supply assistance to survivors through the Maui Relief TANF
Program, which began in the months shortly after the 2023 wildfires through
the state Department of Human Services. The program had assisted 6,400
individuals as of Sept. 30, 2024.
In all, MEO provided help to 30,500 households in the 2023-24 fiscal year.
The 60-year-old agency’s staple programs include transportation services
countywide; Head Start preschool and early childhood care; middle and high
school substance abuse and suicide prevention programs; small business
planning, microloans, financial literacy classes and credit counseling; and
assistance with housing, energy and needs of individuals recently released
from incarceration.
For more information on MEO programs and services, visit www.meoinc.org or
call (808) 249-2990.
For more information on HCF’s Maui Strong Fund, visit
www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org. All of the funds donated to the Fund are
used in the relief effort with HCF underwriting the administrative costs.