Small businesses are the heart and soul of Hawaii’s Culture and Economy! 

Please, let’s safely open up small businesses in Hawaii NOW.

Small businesses have implemented safety measures in their stores/restaurants and are uniquely positioned to manage store traffic and ensure COVID-19 protocols are being followed in their establishments.

We must reverse the arbitrary, unfair, and poorly thought-out shutdown measures that allow big box stores to be open but require small local businesses to be closed and demonstrate a lack of appreciation for our local people and our economic ecosystem.

In our State and Counties’ efforts to combat the virus and manage infections rate, we have created a host of additional short term and long term problems:

• Shuttered small businesses (Many permanently closed already)
• Employees out of work
• Increased unemployment filings
• Many losing medical benefits due to business closures
• Physical, mental, emotional and financial health issues 
• A deep sense of hopelessness and despair
• Anger, frustration, sorrow, and WORSE!

You are asking small businesses, their employees, and their customers to bear the burden of COVID-19 while you allow big box stores, Construction, and Government workers to continue to operate unmonitored and unaffected, financially.

Small businesses NEED your help in the form of financial support IMMEDIATELY:

1. Set aside $100 million in federal funding to help cover the rents and/or mortgages for local businesses as called for in the unanimously-passed City Council Resolution 20-208 (September 9, 2020)
2. Implement a state-sponsored 2nd round of PPP funding working with local banks and using the infrastructure that is already in place from the federal PPP program to fund local small businesses that can illustrate a 50% reduction in Sales from March 23-present.
3. Work with local banks to facilitate commercial debt restructuring and possible SBA Funding without Caps.
4. Involve small business leaders in the decision-making and solution-creating process.  We have amazing talent and in our community, we need to use all resources at our disposal with full transparency and accountability.

We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens who urge our leaders to ACT NOW before it is too late: 

OPEN small businesses safely!

SUPPORT small businesses financially!

INCLUDE small business leaders in the decision-making processes which affect them, their businesses, their employees, and our community at large!