The board of trustees for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has awarded $8 million in grants to 32 community-based organizations that tie their missions to helping improve conditions for Native Hawaiians. More than 6,200 Native Hawaiians are expected to directly benefit from the grant money that addresses issues ranging from improving middle- and high-school test scores to increasing housing stability.

The grant money received by 32 nonprofit organizations will also fund programs that fit into other OHA priorities, such as preserving culture and raising family income to protecting land and supporting prenatal care. The grants have been made available to fund OHA priorities over a two-year period that started in July. The 32 nonprofit groups were selected from 146 applications for OHA grant money.

Among the first-time applicants was an organization called Effective Planning Innovative Communications Inc., known also as EPIC Ohana. It was awarded a $27,900 grant to provide rental-housing assistance statewide to about 42 Native Hawaiian foster youth between ages 14 and 25.

In a news release, Laurie Tochiki, CEO and president of EPIC Ohana, said, "The grant will help Native Hawaiian youth secure housing by matching their savings dollar for dollar to pay for first month’s rent and security deposit." She added, "This OHA grant is critical to help support these youth for a better start in life, just as we support the children in our own families." For more information, visit www.oha.org.

» The nonprofit Parents and Children Together has been awarded $500,000 from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in support of its Ready to Work and Career Support Service project. The award money will be used to provide outreach and recruitment, intake and assessment, preparation classes to complete the Competency Based Diploma program, employment training and placement, career service planning and ongoing case management to low-income Native Hawaiians on Oahu.

» An all-volunteer nonprofit called K9 Kokua has received a $2,000 grant from The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The ASPCA awards grants through a competitive application and review process.

K9 Kokua will use the funding to support its mission of serving dogs owned by the homeless population, financially destitute and those affected by domestic violence. Funds will go toward vaccination shots, dewormer and preventives. K9 Kokua estimates that more than 100 dogs will be served by this grant. Several times a year K9 Kokua conducts large-scale medical beach rounds, during which teams of trained volunteers including licensed veterinarians travel through homeless camps to provide on-site preventive care and wellness examinations, administer medications and distribute supplies consisting of dog collars, leashes, clean water and printed information on basic animal care, benefits of spaying/neutering and emergency care.

K9 Kokua is the only animal welfare organization on Oahu whose primary focus is serving the hundreds of dogs owned by the homeless community.