Hawaii Rolls Out Shutdown Relief Package: $250 Emergency Payment per SNAP Household Member, Plus $100 Million Housing Assistance Program
Hawaii Governor Josh Green announced a coordinated package of state relief actions on October 30 to protect island families from the impacts of the federal government shutdown and the disruption of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. At its center is the Hawaii Emergency Food Assistance Program: the state will issue a $250 emergency relief payment for each eligible individual in a SNAP household, at a total cost of $42.2 million in November, with no application required. The payments flow through the same EBT card system as SNAP but are a separate, state-funded benefit; a household of four receives $1,000.
A second program, the Hawaii Relief Program, launched with $100 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding, provides up to four months of housing and utility assistance for families with children facing financial hardship. Applications opened October 29, and families do not need to be SNAP recipients to qualify. Catholic Charities Hawaii administers the program on Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii Island, while Maui Economic Opportunity serves Maui, Molokai and Lanai.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has also committed $6.1 million in emergency relief for Native Hawaiian families facing food insecurity, utility loss or housing instability, and the state is directing $2 million to Hawaii's food banks plus $500,000 for the Farm to Families program to purchase locally produced food. Residents seeking food or application information can call 211 for referrals to nearby resources.
Source: Office of the Governor of Hawaii.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 夏威夷州州长 Josh Green 官方肖像。2022年，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / Official portrait of Hawaii Governor Josh Green, 2022, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
