IHS, The Institute For Human Services, Inc

At 1st I felt very very blessed to have been helped by IHS when I fled from my home state after my ex set fire to my home in attempts to kill me. I felt line I finally could relax and be confident that I was gonna be ok. That aloha was really real here. Then after my housing specialist was caught between her job which was assisting the clients she was paid to serve and a keeping friendly with property mgmt co. That was caught altering a lease, she absolutely chose to cater to her personal closeness and same race people instead of holding true to what was legally right as well as morally right. And because of that the property mgmt company was allowed to disregard a court order and fraudulently obtain over $5,000 from IHS with horrible sick lies that were very well documented that could have prevented this fraud scam of thousands. But this worker being a housing specialist chose again her personal feelings and close relationship with them and passed it in their favor. In turn when I ended u1p homeless again and turned to IHS for help i1 was refused any type of shelter or guidance. All to suit ones personal feelings against a client that fought for her right to be treated fairly in a court of law and won because I was right. Did right but she was pride hurt and held it against me in a sick way. And when I was assisted before I ne er once was reprimanded or told I was doing wrong at the shelter but now I'm not al1llowed get help again from them with no reason given. 1its sad that someone has the ability and vindictive drive to be so nasty and immoral and is catered to. She also has used her husbands police p1ower to cause me fear at my last apt by showing up and harassing me at my door and when I asked them to identify they refused and kept making threats to me. Multiple times. And she still has the upper hand being a cops wife I guess. But soon civil rights will be involved and the law and what's right will prevail. That I am confident of. Nobody deserves to be bullied for not being willing to cover up fraud committed against them ...get real...legally. and morally.

IHS is doing an outstanding job helping the those in need and encouraging others to help. They are very oraganized, passionate, yet humble about their work.

IHS has helped so many in the community, not only the homeless, but also people who want to do something to help them. They were very gracious in encouraging and accepting Halloween goody bags from my son's class for the children served by IHS. Their staff member, Kate Bepko came to the school to personally thank the children and help educate them about IHS and the good they do.

They also graciously accepted our donations of candy immediately after Halloween and toiletry items. Our school donated over 90 pounds of candy and a couple boxes of toiletry items.

They do a great job of treating the people they serve with dignity and inspiring others in the community to help.

IHS is a wonderful organization and a major player in the fight to end homelessness in Hawaii. They offer so many services to their guests, and serves as an example for other organizations all over the country in its willingness to pursue innovative programs to meet the needs of the homeless. IHS' urban farming initiative is especially commendable, as well as the willingness of the staff to work with other organizations all over Hawaii.

Not only does IHS help its guests with temporary housing and assistance, it also offers the local community a change to engage with the people affected by homelessness. This is so important because it allows everyone to become involved in solving a issue that can be prevented through community effort.

For those unaware of the situation here in Hawai`i homelessness has grown to a problem of epic proportions.

The reason we donate to the Institute for Human Services here in Honolulu is that they are not a "warehouse" for the homeless. Rather, in addition to providing shelter they provide services that help their guests to get back on their feet and into permanent housing. The Institute also helps persons who are in danger of becoming homeless. Children receive school supplies and have a place in the center where they can do homework.

The center also has grows vegetables to serve to its guests, becoming a part of the green movement here in the Islands. The programs at IHS not only provide sustenance for their guests, they also provide a model for good citizenship.

IHS is doing a wonderful service for those in need. I am glad to be part of such a wonderful organization. I see what little resources they have to work with, but they make sure all guests are cared for.

IHS does so much with so little! It is great to witness how far they can stretch a dollar and still give so much to the community. Not only do they shelter and feed the homeless, but, they also work hard to keep those that are housed from becoming homeless again. Their support also extends to education on how to manage finances and good nutrition. They are also able to harness wide-spread community support for volunteers, they are an invaluable asset to Oahu.

IHS is a spectacular homeless shelter. Not only does it provide shelter for the homeless, it offers a variety of beneficial programs for the homeless children including Teen Group, Homework Club, and Head Start (a program geared towards toddlers). These programs really assist the kids at the shelter, as it relieves them of stress from school as well as family. At programs such as Homework Club, they interact with their fellow peers happily and learn respect, responsibility, and discipline, all the while having fun. For example, they are expected to complete as much homework as they can during the two hour time frame. If they do not have homework, they are allowed to do various other activities, such as playing a board game. As a current tutor at Homework Club, I personally witness the progression of these wonderful kids on a weekly basis.

In my role as the adviser for a high school club that does community service projects, I have participated (along with the students) in several volunteer workdays at IHS over the past 5-6 years: sorting donated clothes & household items, cleaning, and serving meals. As the primary homeless shelter in urban Honolulu, IHS provides a critical service to the city's homeless population. As well as providing bed space in their two shelters (one for men & one for women/families), they provide case management and various types of services to help people get back on their feet. I love their recent initiative of growing vegetables & fruit trees in all the available bits of land around the edge of the shelter!

Throughout my life, I have donated to various charities for no particular reason save for the fact that I had received some form of solicitation. A number of years ago, I began to pay attention to the plight of the homeless in Hawaii. The problem is readily apparent. In looking at the various entities that addressed the issues and problems of the homeless, I found that the name of the Institute for Human Services came up repeatedly. I looked into its history, its background, and its operations. Needless to say I was very impressed. From that point forward, I became a regular donor. As a recent retiree, I began to take a closs look at my needs and what I could spare. As a result, I have increased my donations to the IHS because I trully believe in what they are doing and their mission. As time goes on, I suspect that I will increase my contributions further.

IHS does a great job in helping our community's homeless. We really appreciate the hard working, compassionate staff who are willing to care for those who most need a helping hand.

I've experienced the professionalism and friendliness of IHS first hand, although I've never been homeless or worked at IHS. My first type of experience was in donating food left over from professional meetings or large private events. When I pull my car up to IHS, one or more clients comes up and politely offers to help me carry in whatever I've brought. They gently direct me to a parking place and lead me to the donation receipt office. It's obvious that IHS has inspired good morale and modeled friendliness to engender this kind of response from their clients.

The second type of experience was occasioned by my need for a strong person to help with small chores like carrying some heavy buckets down 30 steps to my garage - I'm elderly and not strong enough to do heavy work like that. It's impossible to find anyone to do brief work like that in the regular labor market. After a little thought, I called IHS and was referred to their social worker, who immediately identified a couple of gentlemen who would help me. I use the term gentlemen accurately. From the time I picked up my helpers til I dropped them off again, they were considerate, polite and very willing to help. Of course I paid them generously for their time! The social worker was courteous and immediately understood my problem. I've repeated this experience a couple of times with the same great service through IHS. IHS really provides a service to the community in many more ways than one might think!

When our State was in economic trouble and we were furloughed two days a month, I wanted to make the new time I had available count. At IHS they were receptive to me volunteering in the Family Room as a tutor, but they were also very thorough in checking my background and providing appropriate training before allowing me time with the guests. I did get assigned to tutoring kids after school but the surprise was how I ended up doing as much or more learning then the kids I was tutoring. The compassion and professionalism of the staff at IHS is outstanding. Each day Miss Angela teaches respect by example and breeds confidence and success in the projects she plans for each child. Her rules create discipline and allow everyone to have fun in the space. It's easy to see how this program has such a positive effect on its guests.

I did voluntary works at "cocoa corner" and " a project of counting homeless" in 2010 and 2011. I saw "a sense of family" in the relationship between homeless and IHS's staff. "The bond" portrays how great they are in serving and treating homeless......