HPAG - www.imagine-pacific.com

Aloha,

This article tells the story of why HPAG, the Hawai'i Pacific Advisory Group, came to be. It all began on August 8, 2023, when devastating wildfires struck Maui, leaving behind immense destruction and a need for urgent aid.

In response, many organizations and individuals stepped up to help, but there was a problem. The help wasn't always getting to the right places at the right times. That's where HPAG comes in.

This article explains why HPAG was created. It serves as a bridge, connecting the communities in need with those who can aid. HPAG's mission is to make sure help reaches where it's needed most during disasters like this.

We'll take you on a journey to understand the importance of HPAG and how it coordinates relief efforts effectively. It's all about bringing communities and resources together when they're needed most.

Mahalo Nui Loa,

The HPAG Team

Skip Vincent, Brig Gen, HIANG (Ret)

Founder

The Hawai'i Pacific Foundation

On August 8, 2023, wildfires on the island of Maui claimed a devastating toll on life and property on the “Valley Isle.” The scale of destruction and loss was unlike anything Hawai’i had experienced in modern history. The statistics paint a grim picture—thousands of acres burned, thousands of structures destroyed, a high number of fatalities, and staggering projected losses amounting to billions of dollars. It was a crisis that shook the very foundation of the affected communities, leaving them grappling with an immense and immediate need for aid and support.

In response, various entities, including government agencies, philanthropic organizations, and non-profit groups, mobilized their efforts to provide assistance. However, despite the goodwill and resources pouring in, responders recognized there was a glaring disconnect. It was apparent there was a gap between the communities in need at the tactical level and the resource providers and decision-makers at the higher operational and strategic levels.

With the intent to maximize relief efforts, the Hawai'i Pacific Foundation realized that there was a pressing need to link engage responders for an intermediary organization, an interlocutor that could operate at the grassroots level in an effort to facilitate response and services effectively, with the aim to ensure they meet the affected communities' needs and working closely with the affected communities to address and understand their priorities, specific needs, challenges, and concerns, and priorities.

As a Native Hawaiian Organization, The Hawai’i Pacific Foundation reached out to its community of relationships and their skills to organize an entity designed to help facilitate simultaneous links. This effort would serve as a vital link to affected communities, and effectively communicate these needs to the resource providers, and decision-makers operating at the higher echelons.

The genesis of the Hawai'i Pacific Advisory Group (HPAG) was created with the mission to serve as a much-needed bridge, to facilitate effective communication and coordination between all levels of response and support during times of disaster. Its niche role encompasses understanding the immediate needs of the community, liaising with resource providers, and ensuring that aid and support are directed where they are most urgently required.

Responders recognize that HPAG is developed out of recognition that disasters of this magnitude require necessities which include tactically coordinated, responsive, and collaborative approaches that can address the immediate concerns on the ground and operational while effectively channeling for resources, and ultimately advising from a strategic perspective.

To fill these knowledge, information, and relationship gaps during a response, the HPAG was organized to support this collaborative approach and to be a conduit that ensures that the right help reaches the right place at the right time.

On day two of the wildfires, HPAG provided HIEMA with a head start on systematic Victim Discovery and ID, led by Dr. Karl Kim of the National Disaster Preparation Training Center (NDPTC), an organization with HPAG team ties. NDPTC completed the initial aerial survey while our friends at the Army Corps of Engineers performed the initial data extraction. By day five, HPAG liaisons began to support the HIEMA and the Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) as an advisory group to both organizations.

HPAG’s inputs are continuous. However, in accordance with the intent of the Hawai'i Pacific Foundation, HPAG is solely an advisory asset and it does not task. HPAG collaborates with its members, HIEMA and MEMA, to recommend tasks and priorities and works with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) towards a solution.