Thank you so much for considering funding for a Lanai City Dog Park today. Sadly I could not attend the meeting due to work commitments.
A dog park in Lana’i would be a good opportunity for not just the dogs of Lanai but also the residents. Many elderly residents own dogs and a park would allow their pets some off lead exercise while they could sit and socialize. It would also allow dogs with limited recall some important off lead time and socialization without the worry of the dogs running away on the island.

We hope you will support the proposal!

Mahalo

Jo Sims and David Emig (and Gus🐶)

Testimony in Support of Maui A.I.D.S Foundation County Council Proposal (Fiscal Year 2023-2024)
4/26/23

To the Maui County Council Budget Committee,

Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony in support of the proposal Maui A.I.D.S. Foundation (MAF) submitted to you earlier this month to fund expanding its free sexual health clinic and Harm Reduction services.

My name is Bryan Chin and I work as a Nurse Practitioner at MAF. I serve as the only healthcare provider on staff, prescribing medications for HIV treatment, HIV prevention, and a range of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). MAF is Maui County’s only free and confidential sexual health clinic, and we also oversee the County’s “Harm Reduction” services that include opioid overdose prevention, Narcan training/distribution, and syringe exchange.

I have seen the cases of syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea increase each year since COVID-19 began, largely in the non-insured, under-insured and youth populations that frequent our services the most. We partner with Hawaii Department of Health to access supplies, labs, and medications for these STIs, but the overall volume of folks needing our services could benefit from other provider on staff to help meet the demand.

Additionally, while the requests for our Harm Reduction services on Maui have remarkably increased, so have the requests from Lanaʻi and Molokaʻi. Being able to hire a Harm Reduction Specialist on Molokaʻi particularly will increase our capacity there for opioid overdose training, Narcan distribution (for injection drug users as well as the elderly), HIV/STI services, and linkages to care.

MAF’s proposal to Maui County for additional funding for the upcoming fiscal year has the intention of helping greatly with these causes. Thank you for considering it.

Sincerely,
-Bryan Chin, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
Director of Clinical Services
Maui A.I.D.S. Foundation
Wailuku
808-242-4900

To: Economic Development and Budget Committee
Maui County Council

From: Bevanne J. Bowers, Executive Director
Mediation Services of Maui, Inc.

Testimony in support of FY 23-24 funding for Mediation Services of Maui, Inc.

My name is Bevanne Bowers, and I serve as Executive Director of Mediation Services of Maui, Inc, doing business as Maui Mediation Services (MSM). First, thank you for all of the support you have given us in the past for our Mediation and Conflict Resolution Services and Education Program. We currently receive funding from Maui County’s Housing and Human Concerns Department as one of its Food, Shelter, and Safety grantees in the amount of $90,000. These funds provide essential support, without which we would be unable to meet personnel, rent, and auditing expenses. Our organization serves all of Maui County, including East Maui and the islands of Lanai and Molokai, and we ask that this support continues in the fiscal year ending 2024.
During the last fiscal year, MSM served approximately 998 cases. Thirty-six percent of the cases involved child custody or domestic disputes, and 35% were cases involving landlords and tenants. Various studies, including a 2021 report from the Pew Research Center, find that most people disagree on even the most basic facts. Conflict seems to be at an all-time high – in our homes, workplaces, and even schools. That is why creating opportunities for Maui County residents to access alternative dispute resolution is so important.
MSM began 41 years ago as the Neighborhood Justice Center focusing on neighbor-neighbor disputes. Today, we assist with all types of disputes – from auto accidents to TROs and most in between. At the end of our mediation sessions, we ask the participants to complete a feedback form. Consistently, 90% of those who answer report that they are satisfied with our process, and in the cases where applicable, 50% report they felt some positive change in the relationship.
During the FY2021-22, 2,770 cases were filed in Maui County’s Family courts, and 4,756 were filed in the County’s District Courts. MSM provides relief for these dockets by supplying on-site volunteer mediators for the Wailuku, Lahaina, and Hana Courthouses. Services are also offered at our offices in the J. Walter Cameron Center and on Zoom for participants on Lana’i and Moloka’i. From January 1, 2023 – March 31, 2023, 51% of the cases we opened were referred from Maui County Courts.
Mediation services are only part of what we do. MSM offers customized trainings for employers looking to handle problems in their workplace or wanting to learn the skills so conflict is completely avoided. Our youth program teaches communication and dispute resolution skills to students from kindergarten through high school and is also customized for each age group.
Our goal moving forward is to continue our community outreach with more training opportunities. We also look forward to re-launching our Peer Mediation program and also reviving our Peer mediation program which was highly successful in the early 2000s.
Again, we sincerely thank you for your grant support and request that it continue at the same level of $90,000 for FY 23-24.

Respectfully submitted,

Bevanne J. Bowers, Esq.
Executive Director
Mediation Services of Maui, Inc.

Testimony in Support of Continued Funding in Full for
Mediation Services of Maui, Inc.
(dba Maui Mediation Services)

Dear Maui County Council Budget Committee,

Maui Mediation Services (“MMS”) provides consensual conflict resolution services and training at little or no cost to all citizens of Maui County. These services empower citizens of Maui in conflict with one another to resolve their own differences in ways that can be life-changing. The value of the mediation process to those served cannot be overstated.

As the second largest community mediation center in the state, MMS works with a tiny administrative staff of four and a pool of professionally trained volunteer mediators to provide mediation services to any and all citizens of Maui. During the past fiscal year, we served over 1200 residents of Maui County with their disputes involving child custody and visitation, consumer/merchant interactions, employment disputes, educational issues, business disputes, neighbor relations, and tenant evictions among other subject matter areas. These cases include over 400 Tenant Eviction cases heard under Act 57, which helped to keep many Maui County residents housed during the lean economic times of COVID 19.

Whether these cases are self-referred or ordered by the Courts, the persons involved in mediation are encouraged to listen to one another, rationally evaluate their situation, and make informed decisions about how best to resolve the issues between them. The results often result in better understanding among disputants and more durable terms than those imposed by the courts or others.

Listen to what the parties themselves have told us about their experience with us:
• “I felt very respected, and my concerns were heard”
• “Without the mediation the conflict would still remain”
• “They took time to make sure all parties were satisfied”
• “I feel the mediators did a fantastic job and I have much gratitude and appreciate their ethical conduct”
• “I thought it was fabulous”

In addition to providing mediations, MMS provides a number of trainings each year for Maui
County Residents including Basic Mediation Training(s), Domestic Relations Mediation Training, Civility in the Workplace trainings and others.

As President of the Board of Directors and as a volunteer mediator for the organization myself, I am grateful for the County’s past support and I urge and encourage the Maui County Council’s Budget Review Committee to recommend continuing to fund Maui Mediation Services with its budget allocation through the Department of Housing and Human Concerns.

Sincerely yours,
Stanley Majka, Esq.
Board President, Maui Mediation Services
(Maui Mediation Services is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1982).