Governor’s discussion with White House, DOI garners $2.5M for homeless shelter
Oct. 14, 2018
Hagåtña — Continued efforts to reach out to federal leaders has allowed for funding for a fully functional temporary shelter for the island’s homeless population.
Following discussions with Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of the Department of Interior Ryan Zinke, and Insular and International Affairs Assistant Secretary Douglas Domenech, Governor Eddie Calvo received notice to use $2.5 million in Capital Improvement Program funds. Domenech writes:
“I applaud your drive to assist the issue of Guam’s homeless population, which includes numerous families, veterans, and Compact migrants, as well as those recently displaced by Typhoon Mangkhut. By providing these vulnerable individuals a safe place to reside at night, I am hopeful that this will allow for a sense of security and stability and will help with finding a long-term solution to improve their quality of life. In addition, your plans to co-locate staff from local agencies at the facility will be a great aid to those served by the facility.”
Governor Calvo thanks the President and Vice President for their support of the Calvo Tenorio administration’s ongoing efforts to help some of the most needy on the island – regardless of their nationality.
“This is good news from the White House and the Department of Interior. I am very grateful that they are listening to us and are willing to work with us to address some of these struggles that we are having – particularly because many of these aren’t of our own design. I had a very good conversation with Vice President Pence following the storm regarding the lack of emergency assistance for non U.S. citizens and the fact that we have to deal with this in previous storms,”Governor Calvo stated.
“As the governor and lieutenant governor of all of the people of Guam, it has always been our duty to help everyone. It’s why we have been fighting so hard to find some sort of assistance for those who can’t get any help from FEMA because they aren’t U.S. citizens, and why we worked beyond challenges to build an emergency home for our foster children, and why we worked so hard with federal and private sector partners to build affordable homes,”Lt. Governor Ray Tenorio added.
“This is good news from the White House and the Department of Interior. I am very grateful that they are listening to us and are willing to work with us to address some of these struggles that we are having – particularly because many of these aren’t of our own design. I had a very good conversation with Vice President Pence following the storm regarding the lack of emergency assistance for non U.S. citizens and the fact that we have to deal with this in previous storms,”Governor Calvo stated.
“As the governor and lieutenant governor of all of the people of Guam, it has always been our duty to help everyone. It’s why we have been fighting so hard to find some sort of assistance for those who can’t get any help from FEMA because they aren’t U.S. citizens, and why we worked beyond challenges to build an emergency home for our foster children, and why we worked so hard with federal and private sector partners to build affordable homes,”Lt. Governor Ray Tenorio added.