For 32 years, Julie Gabot drove more than 80 miles round trip each day to work as a housekeeper at the Sheraton Waikiki, cleaning after tourists who enjoyed the resort's infinity pool and beachfront views.
Hawaii is facing it's highest unemployment rate ever as strict stay-at-home orders and a virtual shutdown of the state's once mighty tourism industry have left residents reeling, leaning on their savings or unable to pay rent and feed their families. Since March, the state's unemployment rate has soared from 3% to 34%, one of the highest in the nation.
"It really showed how unprepared our state was for this kind of crisis," she said."We are going to need to prepare for a lot of people losing their homes, not being able to pay their rentals." "We used 9/11 as a sort of a proxy for what might happen because at that time all air travel had stopped for awhile, too," Kunstman said. “Of course, in hindsight, it was 9/11 and then some.”The department took on 531 volunteers from other state departments and the Legislature to help process the claims, setting everyone up at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu.
Victor Leonardi, who oversees The Salvation Army's COVID-19 response in Hawaii, said the organization provided 24,000 meals over a recent six-day period. In a typical month, the Salvation Army distributes 2,500 meals a week. Lisa Maruyama, president and CEO of the Hawai‘i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, said many non-profits barely have enough funding to get through three months without new funds coming in.
'Heartbreaking' loss of incomeBut in January, their Hong Kong distributor cancelled orders because of the coronavirus outbreak then spreading across Asia and Europe. Stores that carried the company's products also begged off or closed, as tourism to the island from Asia declined.
Well, open it up... I'm ready to spend a few bucks...
You think? We got monkeys running are government, Monkeys running the media, and monkeys running the print.
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