HONOLULU – A $50,000 grant presented by the Nareit Foundation to the nonprofit Residential Youth Services & Empowerment (RYSE) is funding essential repairs to a group home on Oahu’s North Shore that will give homeless young adults a safe and secure place to build their lives.
The five-bedroom group home has been vacant for the past year on a lot in Haleiwa with two other group homes that are in operation and providing young adults, ages 18 to 24, with an affordable shared housing situation to live and work. The Nareit Foundation grant is primarily being utilized to repair the vacant group home’s septic tank system needed for residents to have safe and healthy sanitation for handling wastewater.
RYSE Executive Director Carla Houser commented that RYSE’s goal is to end the generational cycle of poverty and homelessness and give young adults a safe home setting from which they can live a more normal life, build self-confidence, and learn the skills needed to thrive.
“Making this group home in Haleiwa safe and livable again to support young North Shore residents will be a tremendous asset for the entire community,” Houser said. “The funding from the Nareit Foundation’s grant has catapulted the effort needed from our caring community partners Achieve Zero and ASI and supportive government agencies to make the repairs needed for this group home to become a safe place for young people to get off the streets. We are hopeful of having these repairs completed soon.”
Nareit Hawaii Executive Director Gladys Quinto Marrone praised the commitment of RYSE to provide vulnerable, homeless young adults with a place to live and receive care and guidance as they make the transition to adulthood. “The Nareit Foundation is proud to support RYSE and this important group home repair project knowing how vital it is to the North Shore community, and particularly, the future of these young adults as they find their path forward with careers and families,” Marrone said.
Joining the event to address the work being done by RYSE at the Haleiwa group home was Achieve Zero Executive Director Nicky Winter, RYSE Director of Housing Services Robert Daley, RYSE Haleiwa Site Coordinator Kahanu Ah Puck, RYSE Housing Case Manager Miki Carreira-Manin, and RYSE Haleiwa Practicum Student Lila Fox.
RYSE is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that offers coordinated programs, services, care, and safety for young adults to get off the streets and thrive. Services provided include an access center that is open daily, emergency and transitional shelters, education and employment counseling, and a medical and behavioral health clinic. For more information, please visit www.rysehawaii.org.
The RYSE grant is funded by the Nareit Foundation, a Section 501(c)(3) organization, and REITs operating in Hawaii as part of the Nareit Hawaii Community Giving Initiative, which supports affordable housing projects provided by nonprofit organizations.
