Article provided by The Hawaii Data Collabrative
Almost a year ago, shortly after the first case of coronavirus in Hawaii was confirmed, and residents were unsure how public health mitigation efforts to limit the spread would impact our local economy, our team focused on addressing the need for timely data in order to understand how households would be impacted and what support they would need. Traditionally, we relied upon robust data sources, such as the U.S. Census American Community Survey, to understand how households are faring. However, these types of data sources are delayed by one to two years, leaving decision makers navigating a crisis with very little data to understand how the situation for families was evolving on a month-to-month basis.
We had a hunch…
Looking at the Hawaii data landscape, Aloha United Way’s (AUW) 211 Helpline – Hawaii’s only free and confidential statewide community information and referral service connecting families in need to available resources and services – appeared to be a good place for us to start. AUW and HDC both recognized the potential for our organizations to align on more timely data for addressing household need, and AUW welcomed the partnership by allowing us to peer behind the curtain and gain a better understanding of the 211 system.