AN OPEN INVITATION TO THE BIG ISLAND COMMUNITY:
The Office of Community Services (OCS) will be hosting a “talk story and listening session” on the Big Island on Wednesday, May 16,2012, at the Hawaii County Office of Aging, 1055 Kino’ole Street, Hilo, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
OCS’ statutory mission is to serve the poor, disadvantaged persons, refugees, and immigrants. It’s now time for us to plan and develop programs and services for the next biennium. As a first step, we would like to hear directly from the community stakeholders to help us gain greater insight and understanding of what is relevant to their present needs, so we can put together programs and services that will work for them. We will learn from this “talk story and listening session” and from their answers to a questionnaire that will be distributed. We would also like to know their views or concerns on how services are being delivered, and barriers or problems they face in accessing these services.
Please help us spread the word out to the Big Island communities. We also ask that you RSVP to this invitation by May 14, 2012, by calling Lola Salimova, OCS Program Specialist, at (808) 586-8675 or by email at lola.k.salimova@hawaii.gov. In responding, please give us an estimate of how many people will be coming from your client community as well as from your organization.
The morning session will focus on hearing from the client community and collecting their responses to a questionnaire. Lunch will be served, compliments ofOCS. The afternoon session will be an opportunity for service providers and employers to share with OCS their strengths and challenges, as well as their thoughts and suggestions on how best to meet the clients’ needs.
We are grateful for the assistance provided by Ms. Rose Bautista, Hawaii County Immigration Information Specialist, and the cooperation of the Hawaii County Office of Aging and the Hawaii CountyEconomic Opportunity Council.
We look forward to seeing you and members of your organization at the event, and we thank you in advance for your assistance and cooperation.
Sincerely,
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MILA KAAHANUI, MSW Executive Director