Keith Fulp, a visitor from Alpharetta, Ga., still remembers the emptiness he felt going back to his hotel after viewing the body of his wife, Jeannie Fulp, after she died of COVID-19 in a Honolulu hospital last month.

“It’s a horrendous task to have to go see your wife of (almost) 44 years after they’ve embalmed her and are getting ready to put her in a little shipping container and send her home,” Fulp said. “I was a mess.”

So it was a welcome sight, he said, to see Jessica Lani Rich, president and CEO of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, waiting to offer support at the pool area of his Waikiki hotel.

“She took a terrible situation and did everything that she could to make it as pleasant for me as possible,” Fulp said. “She was there in the worst of times right when my wife passed away. She was very concerned for me and I’m never going to forget that.”

Keith Fulp was so touched by VASH’s contributions that in lieu of flowers he asked family and friends to donate to the nonprofit in honor of his wife. So far, as many as 33 contributors have raised $2,225 for the organization, which has a memory page dedicated to Jeannie Fulp, who was 61 when she died March 13 after contracting COVID-19 during her Hawaii vacation.

Fulp said Friday he was shocked to hear that state funding for VASH is at risk and hopes state legislators might reconsider.

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Rich said the nonprofit’s $277,500 annual budget was included among other large eleventh-hour cuts the Senate proposed for VASH’s umbrella organization, the Hawaii Tourism Authority, after House bills 200 and 862 crossed over from the House.

State Sen. Glenn Wakai (D, Kalihi-Salt Lake-Aliamanu), who chairs the Senate’s Energy, Economic Development, and Tourism committee, said the outcome of the Senate’s proposed HTA reorganization will be determined in conferences between state representatives and senators that are slated to start Monday.

“We’re still working on the details, but we are looking to see if another entity, outside of HTA, would be able to administer VASH’s funds,” Wakai said.

Sen. Sharon Moriwaki (D, Kakaako-McCully-Waikiki) said Friday she inquired about VASH for her Waikiki constituents and was assured funds would likely be restored in the budget in conference.

Rich said she hopes that legislators can find a solution.

Since its inception 20 years ago, VASH is one of the few programs in the country that works with visitors in crisis. Rich said its services are needed today more than ever as Hawaii tourism is rebounding while the biological risk of COVID-19 is still present and the economic downturn following the pandemic has increased crimes of opportunity.

Rich said from January to March, VASH has worked 200 cases and assisted 563 visitors, including the families of five who died.

During the pandemic, VASH also helped return 387 quarantine breakers to their homes, but funding for their flight assistance program ended Thursday. Rich said the entire program could be demolished by Dec. 31 unless legislators restore its funds during conference.

“This is a horrible time to get rid of our program,” she said. “You know Keith Fulp is just one of the many cases that we handle and you better believe that with tourism opening up there are a thousand more cases coming. If we don’t help these visitors, how will they know that Hawaii cares about them and that we want them to come back?”

Kathryn Henski, Waikiki Neighborhood Board member, said Friday that she understands government budgets have been hit hard by the pandemic. However, Henski said, it’s crucial that leaders find a way to continue programs like VASH, which help the community and police respond to crisis and improve the visitor experience.

“I don’t know of any place else that has something like this. It would be a tremendous loss for the community if they were to disappear,” she said

Henski said it’s unfortunate Waikiki crime and homelessness appear to be rising when police manpower is still down by more than 300 officers. She said her husband and son were recently accosted in broad daylight at a convenience store by a homeless man armed with a rod. Henski said the police responded and her family wasn’t physically harmed by the incident although it has made them apprehensive.

Henski also expressed frustration about the increased visibility of homelessness in the state’s top tourism district, where she recently saw a homeless woman showering naked on Waikiki Beach in view of tourists and other passersby.

The Honolulu Police Department’s Mei King relayed challenges as she acknowledged Henski’s concerns during Tuesday’s Waikiki Neighborhood Board meeting.

“The calls of service have gone up, increased immensely. They have doubled and tripled since the tourists have come into Waikiki,” King said. “So we are trying our best. The other thing I can tell you is that we have legislators that you can also petition to and ask to see what they can do to help us to help you.”

According to Honolulu Star-Advertiser research, total crimes reported to HPD within 1 mile of the Waikiki zip code 96815 have more than doubled from November to March as the economy has opened up, increasing visitors and other traffic.

In November, Safe Travels Hawaii screened about 128,250 Oahu-bound travelers and there were 233 crimes reported in the Waikiki area. The number was roughly 278,000 in March, when police logged 516 crimes.

During this period, there were significant double-digit increases in crimes ranging from theft to burglary, assault, robbery, sex crimes, motor vehicle theft and break-ins, weapons offenses, fraud, vandalism and disturbing the peace.