ALU LIKE, Inc., Hawaii

August, 2008

For thirty years, Native Hawaiians have turned to ALU LIKE, Inc. to help them achieve financial and social stability. ALU LIKE, Inc., incorporated in 1975, is a non-profit organization that serves primarily Native Hawaiians individuals, households, and families throughout the state of Hawaii. ALU LIKE, Inc. takes its name from a term that was frequently used in Hawaii in the 1800s, and means “striving (working) together.” ALU LIKE has taken that term as their motto and has built an organization based on working together to help Native Hawaiians or part-Hawaiians who are in need of multiple types of financial and social assistance.

ALU LIKE’s Services
ALU LIKE offers assistance to their clients through a range of services, including vocational assistance, employment and training, early childhood education, elderly services, library/literacy services, substance abuse/high-risk reduction services, and asset building services. Through their information and referral network, they are able to refer a client to any of ALU LIKE’s services throughout the state, as well as to other agencies that may offer additional services that will benefit that client.

Bricen Moritsugu of ALU LIKE (second from right) stands with a group of recent graduates from ALU LIKE’s financial literacy workshop

Multi-Services Program
ALU LIKE’s Multi-Services Program, which has been in operation since 1992, provides the asset-building component of their services. Asset building services offered include information and referral, emergency financial assistance, Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), financial education, and free tax preparation through ALU LIKE’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. The Multi-Services Program has grown through the years, adding to the amount of services that they provide, and reaching more clients every year. The program now has 11 full-time staff members across the state of Hawaii, and continues to grow.

Client Needs
The most successful services that the Multi-Services Program provides have been the IDA program, financial literacy, and free tax preparation. Asset building programs such as these, which allow Native Hawaiians to work towards self-sufficiency, are especially critical now due to rising energy costs and the rising cost of living, which put an additional burden on struggling individuals and families. While energy and housing costs are increasing nationwide, this is an even greater crisis in Hawaii, where everything must be shipped in over the ocean from long distances. With the rising cost of fuel, and therefore shipping, the cost of all goods and services in Hawaii are increasing exponentially. Working families are paying more for necessary goods and services, and wages are not keeping up with increases in the cost of living. Housing is also extremely expensive in Hawaii. With the median price for homes ranging from $500,000 to $700,000, many local working families are unable to afford homes on the island.

Bricen Moritsugu of ALU LIKE conducts a financial literacy session on budgeting.

Reaching Native Clients
Over the last 30 years, ALU LIKE, Inc. has become a pillar in the Native Hawaiian community. They are well-known and trusted by the native community throughout Hawaii, due in part to the success that they have had helping individuals achieve financial and social self-sufficiency. Most of ALU LIKE’s clients are referred by friends or family members who have heard of the services or are former clients themselves. Some clients also find ALU LIKE through referrals from the many partner agencies that ALU LIKE works with across the state. Because the projects and services ALU LIKE offers are culturally sensitive and appropriate for the native community, ALU LIKE’s clients relate to the projects and services, which helps to increase the success rate they enjoy with clients.

The services that ALU LIKE, Inc. has provided over the last three decades are integral to the success of many Native Hawaiians across the islands. ALU LIKE plans to continue to help the native community succeed for the next thirty years, and beyond.