The Hawaiʻi Working Families Coalition is committed to advocating for our working families during the COVID-19 crisis.

How has COVID-19 affected you, your work, and your family? Click here to share your concerns.

Click here to see recent media coverage, op-eds, and more.

100 Days to Spend CARES Funds

September 21, 2020 — Hawaiʻi now has only 100 days to spend its remaining CARES Act funds. Click here to call Gov. Ige and urge him to spend the state's federal relief funds to help struggling families.

Spend CARES Act Funding Now

Update, September 15, 2020 — Over 1,000 residents signed the petition. Click here to read our letter to Gov. Ige, which includes the original petition and list of signatures. You can also read the press release and download new shareable graphics.

September 2, 2020 — The state has $320 million of unused federal relief funds from the CARES Act. These funds must be spent by December 31, 2020; any unused funds must be returned the federal government. Hawaiʻi's struggling families literally can’t afford to wait any longer. Click here to sign the petition and download shareable graphics.

Tell Gov. Ige to sign SB 126

July 29, 2020 — Senate Bill 126 was passed on June 26. The bill includes appropriations for a rental assistance program, additional money for those receiving unemployment, and funding for child care. The Governor has not taken action on the bill and our families need the relief in this bill now! Take action or download a shareable graphic.

Take Action to Continue Telework

July 8, 2020 — Call Governor Ige to tell him that working families should not have to choose between going back to work and caring for their children and dependents. COVID-19 has caused undue hardship on working families as access to child care and elder care has become extremely limited. This is causing families to choose between work and caring for their children and families. This is a decision no person should ever have to make. Read more.

#CareForMyFamily Rally & Contact Your Legislator

June 22, 2020 — We rallied on June 22 to send a message to legislators: Families need immediate relief. Read more about the rally and our action alert.

CARES Act Spending Priorities for Working Families

June 12, 2020 — Allocating CARES Act funds to priorities like housing and food assistance, health care, social services and child care isn’t just the right thing to do. This type of spending also helps our entire community by preventing evictions and foreclosures, alleviating the detrimental effects of unemployment and stay-at-home orders, and ensuring that working parents can get back to work. Read more.

Recommendations on Use of Federal Funding for Hawaiʻi State COVID-19 Response

April 6, 2020 — This memo summarizes recommendations on how to prioritize the federal COVID-19 funding coming to Hawaii. More than 60 Hawaii nonprofits were invited to provide their input on these recommendations. Read more.

Working families need state support with COVID-19

March 15, 2020 — The partners and organizations signed below are writing to request action for our working families. Our state safety net is not equipped to deal with the crisis resulting from COVID-19 and steps must be taken to ensure our working families do not fall through the cracks. Read more.