The mission of HCEOC is threefold: to prevent, alleviate, and eliminate poverty in Hawai‘i County. We comprise a hub of community programs which provide residents multiple forms of access to economic relief and opportunity with the goal of self-sufficiency.
Established in 1965, Hawai‘i County Economic Opportunity Council (HCEOC) is a Community Action nonprofit organization that operates a variety of programs to mitigate symptoms of poverty.
Along with Maui Economic Opportunity Council, Honolulu Community Action Program, and Kaua‘i Economic Opportunity, Inc., HCEOC is a proud member of the Community Action Partnership (CAP), a national association that provides agencies like ours technical assistance, training, and other resources to tackle the complex issues surrounding poverty.
Community Action was part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty and informed by the activism of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 created the Community Action Network of national and local organizations connecting millions of Americans to greater opportunity.
As a Community Action Agency, we adhere to the organizational standards of the Community Services Block Grant to assess performance and develop quality improvement actions to improve deficiencies and scale out successes. We carry out our mission in the following ways:
- Community-wide assessments of needs and strengths
- Comprehensive antipoverty plans and strategies
- Provision of a broad range of direct services
- Mobilization of financial and nonfinancial resources
- Advocacy on behalf of low-income people
- Partnerships with other community-based organizations to eliminate poverty