Our Programs
Four programs. One pathway out of hardship.
Meet the immediate need, open the next door, build the character, and give a family roots. Each COTA program is a step on the same path.
Program One · Active
Community Essentials Program
Hot meals, clothing, hygiene kits, and household essentials for families in Hilo and across Hawaiʻi Island facing financial hardship.
Hardship in Hawaiʻi rarely looks like one missing thing. A family short on rent is also short on dinner, on soap, on school clothes, on a working rice cooker. The Community Essentials Program meets those needs together, in one place, from neighbors who don't ask people to prove how hard things are.
- Weekly meal distribution — hot, filling meals served with dignity, no paperwork at the table.
- Monthly essentials days — clothing, hygiene kits, diapers, cleaning supplies, and household basics.
- Mobile outreach — bringing meals and supplies directly to encampments, beach parks, and families without transportation.
- Referral and follow-up — connecting households to our scholarship fund and to partner services.
Program Two · Active
Scholarship & Family Support Fund
Scholarships, school supplies, and tuition assistance for students, graduates, and adults pursuing education or workforce training.
Cost is the quiet reason people on this island stop short of the training or degree they want. The Scholarship & Family Support Fund removes the specific dollar amount that stands in the way — a certification fee, a semester of tuition, a laptop, a box of supplies in August — so that a plan does not die over a few hundred dollars.
- Scholarship awards for high school graduates entering college, trade school, or certification programs.
- Tuition and fee assistance for adults returning to school or entering workforce training.
- School supply support for keiki heading back to class each year.
- Family support grants for the practical costs that surround education — transportation, uniforms, testing fees.
Program Three · Active
Youth Fellowship & Service Camp
An annual week-long faith-based camping trip earned through a year of community service alongside the Community Essentials Program.
Youth serve first. Over the course of the year, they help pack hygiene kits, serve meals, load trucks, and show up for their neighbors. That service earns them a place on a week-long camping trip where faith and outdoor skill are taught side by side — and where a teenager who has been serving all year finally gets served.
- Daily Bible study and evening fellowship around the fire.
- Practical outdoor skills — fire-building, fishing, diving, and swimming safety.
- Mentorship from adult volunteers who stay in relationship after camp ends.
- A year of community service with the Community Essentials Program as the pathway in.
Program Four · Future Program
Ohana Healing Village
Future Program — Coming SoonA planned tiny-home community built on Hawaiʻi's kauhale model — a real place to heal, not just a bed for the night.
Individuals and families experiencing homelessness will live in small A-frame homes while healing from trauma and addiction. Residents grow food in a shared garden and manage beehives on the property, working alongside one another on a path back to stability. The village launches once our core programs are established and land on Hawaiʻi Island is secured.
- Small A-frame homes arranged as a kauhale — a village, with shared responsibility and shared space.
- Trauma-informed and recovery-focused support for residents healing from addiction.
- A working garden and beehives that supply food, structure, and a daily reason to show up.
- A clear pathway from the village into long-term stable housing and employment.
Which program fits your family?
One short form is all it takes. Tell us what's going on and we'll reach out to connect you with the right support.