Connecting for Success Of the 37,000 Hawai‘i students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades, over 6,000 will not graduate from high school on time without intervention. With the generous support of 15 funders and donors, the Hawai'i Community Foundation has created a program called Connecting for Success (CFS) that's based on research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is designed to help increase students' connections to school. The CFS program has awarded 15 grants to 10 public middle schools and their community partners. Now in its second year, the results are promising: 54% of students who participated in this program had at least one "F" on his or her report card, which dropped to 11% by the end of the first year of the program. Increasing attendance and academic performance of at-risk students reduces the likelihood that these students will engage in risky behaviors, such as dropping out of school, smoking or using drugs. We are encouraged by the early results of CFS and also by the excitement and engagement of all the school and community participants. Mentor Daniel Gomez with Waimea Middle School Public Conversion Charter Student
HousingASAP In September, HCF launched HousingASAP, a new program designed to convene a network of nonprofit service providers to help address a critical issue: homeless families in Hawai'i. The main goal of HousingASAP is to move more homeless families into stable housing faster, serve them quicker and keep them in their homes. The three-year, $4 million program, will help network providers build their organizational effectiveness, especially their capacity around data and evaluation; form network partnerships specific to family homelessness; and provide leadership development opportunities. This program is vital to organizations that need to adapt to the changes in the federal approach to funding homelessness, which emphasizes getting people into housing first. HCF held a two-day informational and kickoff meeting for the following participating organizations, which represent half of the beds available for homeless families in Hawai'i: Alternative Structures International Catholic Charities Hawai‘i Family Life Center, Inc. Family Promise Hawai‘i Hope Service Hawai‘i, Inc. IHS, the Institute for Human Services United States Veterans Initiative Waikīkī Health HousingASAP is funded by 13 donors: