The Sand Island Treatment Center has a reputation for rehabbing the “toughest and most desperate” clients. But the organization says it needs more money, with $36,000 in monthly costs faced since moving from a rent-free location on Sand Island to a leased, city-owned building in Kalihi. It also is seeking a $446,800 state grant to develop a commercial kitchen on site.

More details may be required, however, about the center’s finances. In 2017, the center agreed its CEO would return a portion of his “excessive” salary, surpassing $460,000. And March 8 was the deadline for a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor requiring it to pay nearly $452,000 in illegally underpaid wages between 2019 and 2022.