After the Maui wildfires, Jacob, a young adult with I/DD, felt completely disconnected. His routine was gone, his service providers had changed, and he didn’t know where to turn. He stopped attending programs and told his mother he felt “lost.”
A Council-funded local Maui outreach worker contacted him, someone he knew from before the fires and trusted. Through the rebuilt Maui Disability Alliance, Jacob learned how to reactivate his services, enroll in Smart911, update his ABLE account, and reconnect with friends through a self-advocacy group.
What made the difference was having one trusted person who could explain information in clear language and guide him through confusing systems during a traumatic time.
Jacob later said, “Everyone kept telling us to call different agencies, but the Council gave us someone who could actually walk with us. That changed everything.”