As a Army Officer (MAJ) retired and teaching in China, the Covid pandemic caused all foreign…read moreEnglish teachers to get canceled Visa's. Flew to L.A., then to Schofield Army Base for housing. Waiting list (3 yrs !) for housing, I stayed at Base Hotel at $165/day. Then told to leave after 1 month because active soldiers needed the room (paid more $). Angry about that, moved out to Hotels near the airport at ~ $200/DAY! With only a computer & phone, and the money saved from teaching, I tried many places and finally on my last leg from Hotel costs, I called US VETS in Kapolei. A 'Behavior Psychologist' understood I had $300 left at the Central YMCA, and came to my rescue. I carried my large 5 bag of clothing to the site, meet the man, filed out many forms, and was given a 3-man room for $170 A MONTH, 3 good meals a day, internet hook-up, A/C living spaces, and other Vets to talk to everyday, some who had some of the same problems living in this expense State of HI. Most men had health problems from past wars ... Vietnam, Korea, some from the Gulf. Few had drug problems, but most were just financially broke like myself. This is what is important: It gives a man time to search for housing and a job without worrying about food, shelter, security, and a feeling of loneliness. To leave that place is ON YOU, not the people working there! They do provide job fairs, job training, employees to change one's behavior problems in class ... but to find housing, I used the internet & phone to contact Charities for Housing. Fill out the forms and don't give up. Waiting for an answer takes patience and luck. After one year, I was lucky to get a great place in Mililani, got a Substitute Teaching Certificate for HI schools, and financed a car for transport. Let me add one more Item which is important when living at US VETS, your assigned Manager is very important. I had a good one (Gary) who gave me more internet time, DD-214 research, always available for discussions of importance. So I read some sad reviews on US VETS, and decided to even out the score. Thank you Gary & US VETS. DAC

i got to us vets with the clothes on my back now ihave my own apartment us vets is a steping stone…read moreto independance they fed me 3 times a day clothed megave me a counslerto help with aney problems i might incountergave me a monthly bus pass to look for work us vets wear verey frendlyand helpfulto my sucsess in the program

Letting go of my treasures…read more.. As shopping at your local Goodwill you'll find some other's treasure. There comes a moment when I just need to purge to make room and create a relaxing space as though certainly not unwanted but items that has long been useful or needed and is in my opinion great items that hopefully will find home versus the landfill especially at reasonable cost. As the holiday seasons are slowly approaching is obvious with a section filled with Halloween decor and such items are a one time use it's nice to find price friendly deals. This Kapolei location is located on a road behind Costco amongst many industrial buildings and seems to be sharing the same lot with a school but since it was on a Sunday the parking lot was empty though filled with shoppers as many come here to shop and the donation drop off is the building right beside the store and is a very easy drop as a staff came up to me to help with the items. I had to give the shop a peek and see what they have and did find a small item that interested me and at the bargain price of $3.99 was amazing and will go into great use. Lots of clothing and seasonal items displayed making a great place to find options that are price friendly. Thank you!

Great location tucked off the main roadway in Kapolei. Big parking lot, the entire store looks on…read morethe newer side. Staff are super friendly. Clear posted signage in the store about pricing and the daily color (which is 50% off). I docked stars because the store has posted signs for womens, mens, kids, etc but the racks themselves are so unorganized. Most of the clothes are off the hangers, tangled amongst themselves, or just in the wrong section. So much to look at but the racks are stuffed. I only noticed a small Target section, which is where outdated items go FYI, so that was disappointing. Would recommend if youre in the area but please note that lots of people shop here so the racks may be picked over.

The staff are very caring, patient and friendly they have compassion and work well our seniors. My…read moremom loves going there she has new friends to hang out with and lots of activities making it fun. So happy we found St Francis daycare for adults.

I am so happy to have found this place!! St. Francis Intergenerational Center is a daycare facility…read morefor children and adults. I am going to review the adult daycare portion. I "shopped" and interviewed many places before settling on this one. First off, let me preface that being a caregiver to an ailing loved one 24/7 for the past 2.5 years has been the most challenging and rewarding "job" I have ever had. As rewarding as it is, I do acknowledge that self care is of utmost importance in terms of longevity. I need to be able to be of healthy mind, spirit and body BEFORE I can take care of anyone else. Anything else short of that means that fatigue, resentment and burnout will occur. This place is so fantastic! Really it is. Raquel is the program administrator the adult daycare portion and she has been so instrumental in helping our family transition our loved one into their program. Minimum days to be enrolled here is two days a week and of course anything after that they could probably accommodate your family needs. The staff is also very nice and genuinely caring and jovial. I have dropped by here many times without an appointment just to peer through their glass door to see what they are doing. Each time, I see my loved one being cared for and staff being attentive. Many times they don't see me peering in. But it's this type of surprise visit that make me feel at ease about leaving my loved one here. They have a monthly newsletter that goes out to the family and one can see what is on the menu daily, activities for the month, planned field trips, parties and themes for the month. They have different people come in as well during the week to "entertain" and engage the daycare participants - from musicians, yoga instructors (chair yoga), to arts and crafts - they really keep the participants busy. There is a daily schedule as well that includes meal times (breakfast, snacks and lunch), nap or down time and quiet time. Perhaps one of the nicest things about SFIC is that the participants get to engage with the children from the child daycare section (supervised of course) and both generations benefit from that exchange. The facility is extremely clean (a bit too cold but I just dress my loved one accordingly) and boasts a full kitchen, bathrooms and showers (if needed), recliners for nap time and outside picnic benches for when they get to enjoy the fresh air outside. This place has been a godsend!! I cannot stress enough how much this respite has helped alleviate caregiver stress and burnout. When choosing a daycare, it was important to me that there are staff members that could communicate with our loved one in her dialect. I feel completely comfortable leaving our loved one here knowing that her safety and well being is their foremost goal. She comes back smiling and that's always a good feeling. SFIG is located in Historic Ewa Beach on Renton Road.

My daughter attended here, and both my kids will soon attend together. They are so helpful to…read moreworking families. This place has so much potential and wish more families knew about it, and hoping they add more activities for kids in the future along with educational for the older kids with career and lifestyle.

Today there was a food distribution at the Hale Pono clubhouse Ewa Beach Boys & Girls Club which is…read morelocated adjacent to Ilima Intermediate School. It starts at 1300-1500 for Seniors and 1500-1700 for Everyone else. Today they had Japanese cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, chicken, bagels, bananas, oranges, and broccoli, and canned goods. Recommend this place when they have their monthly food distribution.

Beautiful building- the students are high functioning and are very happy to b at this school. They…read moreoperate on the ground floor in a large room

I love this place! My child has attended a few other after school programs, but did not do well…read more The staff-child ratio was not good and the staff did not care. Here at Eater Seals, they have enough (caring) staff that you can feel confident your child is safe. If anything does happen (because kids will be kids) they always call and tell us about it when it happens. It puts us at ease knowing he is cared for, and not discriminated against, because of his limitations. They also work on life skills (cooking, computer class, etc.) They are wonderful here! It's money well spent! Their inter-session camps (school breaks) are fantastic too! They take the kids on so many fun outings! He's been more places here in Oahu that I have, just by his experiences with Easter Seals! (Even with them taking the kids in the community, I feel at ease knowing they will be taking great care of the kids and helping them have a great time!)

21 November 2020…read more Donation season! On my walk this morning, I stopped by the drop box to check if there were hours posted; no hours are posted. However, it seems a new addition was made...an after hours drop box! I like that they added an after hours drop box (I think its new because I've gone in the past and there was not one before). Irregardless, it is only for small items and people still leave their larger items at the side of the container. When I went back to drop my items off, it seems the drop box was almost full because once I closed the hatch and open it to put in another bag, the first one was still there. I had to physically push it in with a little force. This indicates that either they haven't emptied it in a few days or there were a lot of donations in a short period! ‍ I wish they had hours posted. I think that would be more helpful and would deter people from leaving their items outside in the elements. While their intent to donate is good, leaving items on the outside just creates the potential for weather damage and the items becoming unusable! I do like donating to BB/BS though as they state that the profits from clothing donations or household goods donations go  toward funding the specialized mentoring programs for young people. The added after hours drop box is a convenient addition!!

I use to donate to another non profit organization but change to BB&BS. They were great and even…read morepicked up my four years old artificial Christmas tree. They took large toys and clothing. Will call on them again this year!

Magical Train Ride Adventure!…read more We absolutely loved our experience on the historic Hawaiian Railway -- such a unique and beautiful way to explore Oahu's west side! From start to finish it was pure aloha vibes and family fun! Prices: Standard train ride tickets were around $18 for adults and $13 for kids (ages 2-12) (kids under 2 are free!), and we felt it was worth every penny for the experience and memories! Parking & Arrival: There's plenty of free parking right at the train station, which made arriving super easy and stress-free. We got there a little early to soak in the atmosphere before departure! Hours & Tour Times: The train runs on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays with departures like 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM, plus a couple of other times depending on the day -- perfect for planning your afternoon. Length & Route: The whole ride is about 90 minutes round-trip, slowly chugging through scenic parts of Oahu's Leeward coast with beautiful views of the ocean and mountains. The narration from the guide made the ride even more interesting! Stops & Fun: One of the best parts was the ice cream stop in Ko Olina -- we all hopped off for a cool treat at a little plaza and waved to neighbors along the way! Photo Ops Everywhere: There were so many spots perfect for photos -- seaside views, cute vintage train cars, and open-air seating made for great candid shots! Plus, we barely saw anyone else there during our ride, so it felt like we had the whole adventure to ourselves. Tips: * Arrive early to grab good seats and explore the train yard * Bring a camera (or phone!) -- the scenery is AMAZING * Don't forget a little extra cash for ice cream! Overall: This was one of our favorite experiences on Oahu -- kid-friendly, super scenic, and just plain fun. We're already talking about going back again next time!

We were really disappointed with this experience. The ride is far too long for young children and…read moresimply isn't engaging enough to hold their attention. The advertised ice cream stop is just a stop at a local shopping plaza, where you're directed to buy ice cream from the ABC Store. It didn't feel like a special attraction at all. If you're expecting scenic ocean views, temper your expectations. We only caught two brief glimpses of the water. The majority of the ride passes through overgrown brush, a shopping cart graveyard, and several homeless encampments. Overall, it felt like a waste of both our time and money. Unfortunately, we wouldn't recommend it, especially for families with young children.