HONOLULU, Hawaii – Our staff first met former (1990 – 2000) state representative Alex Santiago during the 1994
    legislative session, when we were lobbying the Legislature to pass the Hawaii Hispanic Bicentennial bill. Former
    state senator Anthony Chang helped steward the bill through the Senate, but we needed someone to help on the
    House side.
    A friend introduced us to former House Vice Speaker Jackie Young, now the Director of the American Cancer Society
    Hawaii Pacific. Young told us: “Alex Santiago is half-Korean/half-Puerto Rican. He’s done a lot for his Korean side,
    now it’s time he did something for his Puerto Rican side.” She was right. We could not have found a better
    champion. Thanks to Chang, Santiago and Young, the Hispanic Bicentennial bill was passed and we had a statewide
    celebration.”
    How did Santiago come by his Puerto Rican “half?” He said: “It came from my father’s side. Both my grandparents
    were born on Maui. My great-grandparents were among the first groups of the large migration of Puerto Ricans that
    came to work on Hawaii’s sugar plantations between 1900 and 1901. My dad met my mother while stationed in
    Korea, during the Korean War. So we’re the Miss Saigon story with a better ending.”    
    Santiago is now CEO/Executive Director of PHOCUSED (Protecting Hawaii’s Ohana, Children, Underserved, Elderly
    and Disabled). According to its website: “PHOCUSED (was) formed to unify the disparate health and human services
    sector with a strong voice for the people we serve. Year after year, many who have worked and advocated for the
    needs of the underserved, have watched in frustration as policy and fiscal decisions (were) made with little or no
    input from our sector. These decisions, many political in nature, have not always (benefitted) those with the
    greatest needs in our State. It’s time for us to make health and human services a priority.”
    The website states that PHOCUSED will: “Train individuals from populations at risk to speak in their own voices
    about the need for high-quality and accessible health and human services; Mobilize individuals and organizations to
    advocate for the needs of populations at risk in Hawaii; Work collaboratively with government officials, elective
    officers, public agencies and concerned citizens to develop and sustain effective service delivery systems; Identify
    and address health and human service needs throughout the state.”
    How did the concept of PHOCUSED come about? Santiago said: “It has been a dream of mine since I was in office.
    Having a social worker’s background, I was a strong advocate in the Legislature for the health and human services
    sector. But I felt the sector didn’t have a unified voice. It was unorganized and, at times, some groups were at odds
    with others competing for the same funding resources. I felt if the sector ever got together, it would be a force to be
    reckoned with and I encouraged them to work together.”
    The idea makes so much sense you would think someone had already thought of it. Santiago said: “There were
    many attempts to get the sector organized, even before I was in office. There was a group called the Alliance. There
    was another effort before that one. Some groups even had paid staff to try to organize the whole health and
    human services private non-profit sector. Some of these initiatives had limited success, but none was able to sustain
    itself.”  
    So what was the impetus for the current PHOCUSED initiative? He said: “One day I got a call from Debbie Shimizu,
    the head of the National Association of Social Workers. She invited to attend a presentation at the state capital by
    Tim Schmaltz, CEO of PAFCO (Protecting Arizona’s Families Coalition). I attended and was totally blown away. He
    was doing what I had been talking about and had been doing it for about seven years.”
    Like Santiago, Schmaltz had a political background. He had also been the director of the Arizona Department of
    Human Services and the head of Catholic Charities there, so the two men had similar experiences. And, apparently,
    they thought alike. Santiago said: “We had lunch together and were finishing each other’s sentences. Halfway
    through lunch he said: ‘Alex you’ve just got to do it.’”
    That statement did it for Santiago. He said: “I made a very comfortable living in my own business as a lobbyist and
    had a substantial list of clients I was representing. I have also been the executive director of the Hawaii
    Psychological Association and have supported their efforts to provide mental health services access for rural
    communities. So I felt so much of my work experience and education was really preparing for this opportunity and it
    was something I really wanted to do.”
    Now that he had a good, and successful, model to follow, how did he envision PHOCUSED working in Hawaii? He
    sees PHOCUSED providing a unified voice that says: “We’re not going to settle any more for a small piece of the pie
    with everyone competing for it. We have to educate the public and the legislators so they understand that
    increasing the size of the pie saves the state money in the long run because prevention services will help eliminate
    larger, more expensive problems.”
    Santiago went on: “It’s logical that if you prevent someone from winding up in a worse situation in the future, it
    costs less than once the problem has been allowed to progress. And I’m talking about expensive, not just in
    economic terms, but also socially, emotionally and spiritually. Many of the problems our non-profits deal with are
    long-term issues that aren’t going away. But, we are typically offered short-term solutions that essentially put on a
    band aid on a wound that is hemorrhaging.”     
    With this vision in mind, PHOCUSED was launched just over a year ago. Santiago said: “Our organization is
    comprised of members, which can be organizations or individuals. I have to give Debbie Shimizu and Joanne
    Lundstrom, our board chair, a lot of credit. They provided substantial guidance and leadership. We approached the
    CEOs of several large non-profits. We explained that our mission is to work collectively for the betterment of our
    respective clients. They each agreed with our concept, and, most importantly, joined us.”  
    Santiago continued: “These CEOs quickly recognized that our ultimate goal was to fight for the people they’re
    organizations are serving. We want to ensure that those that most vulnerable and in greatest need, and we’re
    talking our children, the Ohana, the elderly, the underserved, the disabled, etc., receive the help they need. And it’s
    that mission that drives everything PHOCUSED does.”
    With Santiago’s passion, and the assistance of his talented and experienced board, our staff believes this coalition
    is destined to have a tremendous impact on the influence and efficacy of the state’s health and human services
    sector.   
Local Latino former state legislator now leads non-profit coalition
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Hawaii Hispanic
Statistics
Residents      105,172

Percentage of
Hispanics population
in Hawaii            8.2%
Hawaii Hispanic
History
Francisco Marin
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