Federal funding was just cut off for several positions at the Maui Humane Society that were used to employ Lahaina fire survivors.
Victoria Ivankic of the Maui Humane Society said the three affected jobs are critical to the nonprofit.
“For about the past year or so, we’ve had funding from the National Dislocated Workers Grant program to employ some of our local Lahaina wildfire survivors at our shelter,” she said. “This included team members who directly care for the animals. They contribute to the safety of the animals. One of our team members fundraises for the animals.”
The grants are awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to provide supplemental funding in response to major economic dislocations or in cases of disaster recovery.
“They work very hard to care for the pets that we serve, and the community we serve,” Ivankic said. “And unfortunately, we received this news that funding for their positions is no longer available.”
The Maui Humane Society, as well as the employees directly, were notified by email that the change was effective immediately.
Ivankic said the Maui Humane Society is currently searching for alternate funding sources to continue to employ the residents.
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