Stand up and help
protect Head Start
Across Hawaii and the nation, Head Start and Early Head Start programs are facing an unprecedented threat. A new federal policy proposal would eliminate these life-changing services — putting our keiki, families and communities at serious risk.
For decades, Family Support Hawaii has proudly delivered Early Head Start on Hawaii Island, providing infant and toddler care in Ka‘u, Kona and North Hawaii, where families often face limited access to early childhood programs. Our partner agency, Parents And Children Together, also offers Head Start and Early Head Start in Hilo, Papaikou, Pahoa, Hawaiian Beaches, Mountain View and Keauhou.
On an island as geographically vast and diverse as ours, Head Start is what makes high-quality early learning and family support possible in rural and underserved communities — places where the need is great and resources are scarce.
These programs don’t just serve our families, they strengthen the social fabric of our neighborhoods.
Head Start is more than early education. It’s a lifeline for families living paycheck to paycheck — offering safe learning environments, nutritious meals, health and developmental screenings, and crucial support for parents navigating housing, employment, and healthcare. These programs prepare keiki for kindergarten and empower families to thrive.
If eliminated, nearly 3,000 children in Hawaii — and over 750,000 nationwide — would lose access to early learning. Classrooms would close. Teachers and staff would lose their jobs. Parents, especially working mothers, would be forced out of the workforce. Our schools and health care systems would be overwhelmed.
This isn’t just a budget issue — it’s a moral one. Cutting Head Start would unravel the safety nets that help our island families build a better future.
We need your voice. Visit nhsa.org/take-action and 808ne.ws/trumpheadstart.
Let’s protect what matters. Let’s protect Head Start for Hawaii Island and beyond.
Ray Wofford
Executive director of Family Support Hawaii,
Kailua-Kona
Fern Acres eviction
attempt seems unfair
A friend of mine, who has lived for six years in the same house on Plumeria Street in Fern Acres, received a visit by six police and a legal message server with a “Trespass Notice” to vacate his home alone with his four dogs in five days or face going to jail and a $1,000 fine.
How is this possible? Even a squatter gets 45 days. That’s the law.
He has a lease/option that the new owners want to ignore.
Since when do the police take sides in a legal dispute? I know that things are backward here, but this, in my opinion, so unfair.
Please, email me your opinion — “fair” or “unfair” — to Glorianndoerr@gmail.com
Gloria A. Doerr
Hilo
