Nonprofit Maui Economic Opportunity turns 60
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The focus of the program was helping children to get a good start in early life through working with their families, under President Lyndon Johnson's War On Poverty.
Maui Economic Opportunity led the county in initiating the Head Start Program emphasizing early childhood development and school readiness in 1965, and then expanded into other services, including transportation for seniors and the handicapped, as well as emergency rent for households to avoid eviction and homelessness.
"As MEO enters its sixth decade of helping people and changing lives on Maui, we are planning a series of events in the New Year to mark and recognize the work of our current staff and our predecessors," said MEO chief executive officer Debbie Cabebe. "We have come a long way since that first year when MEO ran Head Start and a community organizing entity."
Head Start remains a part of MEO but other programs, such as housekeeping, basil growing and AmeriCorps, have come and gone, she said.
"MEO's work and place in the community have been reinforced and handed down literally through generations to new staff and new leaders," said Cabebe. "Currently, we are caretakers of a legacy forged by strong and innovative leaders. … MEO is a promise to the individuals of Maui County that when life takes a bad turn and you are facing eviction, power disconnection, piles of debt, we will be here to offer help and hope."
MEO Chief Executive Officer Debbie Cabeba
MEO Chief Executive Officer Debbie Cabeba
About 18,000 individuals and 12,500 families received assistance from MEO from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024. This included more than 6,500 individuals and 700 businesses impacted by the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires.
MEO began operating relief programs in the weeks and months following the wildfires. Those programs have provided housing, utility, vehicle, appliance, clothing, school supply and employment assistance, as well as grants for businesses impacted by the fires.
Since 1965, MEO programs have grown and adapted to tackle the most significant needs on Maui (including East Maui), Moloka'i and Lāna'i.
Today, MEO is one of Maui County's larger nonprofits with nearly 250 staff and a budget of $39.2 million.
MEO is often characterized as five nonprofits in one with each of the five departments providing unique services -- transportation, early childhood services, community services, business development center and youth services. These departments serve kupuna, youth, persons with disabilities and low income residents.
Some highlights of the 2023-24 fiscal year:
• 6,405 individuals received more than $15 million in disaster-related nonrecurring assistance through the Maui Relief TANF Program.
• 973 households received disaster-related rental assistance.
• 481 households avoided eviction and homelessness.
• More than 700 small businesses were provided $4.1 million in disaster recovery grants.
• 5,300 low income and disadvantaged individuals made more than 260,000 rides to work, medical appointments, shopping, activities and more. MEO operates the Maui Bus paratransit and the county's specialized Human Services contracts.
• 1,400 youth avoided risk-taking behaviors through Youth Services' prevention programs.
• 378 individuals obtained employment and 132 gained an industry credential through employment and training programs offered through Community Services.
• 180 Three and four–year-olds received Head Start preschool at no cost to families through Early Childhood Services, promoting school readiness and enhancing social and cognitive development.
• 366 adults and 155 youth learned financial literacy skills through Business Development Center (BDC) programs.
• 157 individuals improved their credit scores with assistance of certified BDC counselors.
• 1,500 seniors received fresh fruit and vegetables through the Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP). In addition, 15 farmers generated more than $67,000 of revenue.
• 119 farmers increased their production and/or business acumen through more than $2.8 million in micro-agriculture grants, administered by BDC.
• 1,100 seniors maintained independent living situations through the work of MEO Transportation.
• 1,300 seniors remained active and engaged with the support of MEO's Maui County Planning & Coordinating Council.
Other annual activities included helping organize the Kupuna Aloha Luncheon at the Grand Wailea, which attracted more than 400 kupuna; operating the Lāna'i Shopping Shuttle, scheduling ferry trips and providing ground transportation weekly for Lāna'i residents out of Ma'alaea Small Boat Harbor; organizing summer youth camping trips on Maui and Moloka'i; and distributing surplus food in Hana and on Lāna'i and Moloka'i.
The nonprofit continues to look for ways to assist people in need in Maui County. Fifty laptops were given away in a partnership with AT&T and human-i-t; a CDL course was offered to previously incarcerated individuals; and English language classes were taught to Spanish-speakers.
MEO Executive Administrative Assistant Lee Imada contributed to this report.