Project Dana Hawaii: Free Volunteer Support for Families Caring for an Aging Parent

Your parent needs help seven days a week, but paid home care runs thousands of dollars a month in Hawaii. Project Dana fills a gap that no government program covers — trained volunteers who show up at your parent's door for companionship, light errands, and respite so you can work, sleep, or simply breathe.

What Project Dana Actually Provides

Project Dana is a faith-based volunteer caregiving program operating across Oahu, founded on the Buddhist principle of dana (selfless giving). Unlike paid agencies, volunteers are not CNAs or licensed caregivers — they provide non-medical support that keeps isolated seniors connected to their communities.

Services include:

• Friendly visits and companionship — weekly check-ins for homebound seniors
• Transportation to medical appointments, grocery stores, and social activities
• Light chore assistance — yard work, taking out trash, simple household tasks
• Respite for primary caregivers — a few hours of presence so you can step away
• Telephone reassurance — daily or weekly calls to confirm safety and reduce isolation

The program specifically serves seniors who live alone or whose families cannot provide full-time supervision. For a parent in early-to-mid-stage dementia, this companionship layer reduces wandering risk during hours when no family member is present.

Who Qualifies for Project Dana Services

Project Dana serves adults aged 60 and older on Oahu regardless of income, religion, or insurance status. There is no Medicaid eligibility requirement and no financial means test. The program prioritizes seniors who are:

• Homebound or socially isolated
• Living with chronic illness or cognitive decline
• Lacking family members available during daytime hours
• Not receiving comparable services from Kupuna Care or other programs

Referrals come through community organizations, churches, hospitals, and self-referral. Contact their main office to request an intake assessment.

How Project Dana Fits With Other Hawaii Programs

Project Dana addresses social isolation — something neither Med-QUEST nor Kupuna Care explicitly covers. Here is how the programs complement each other:

For families managing a parent with dementia, the practical combination is: Med-QUEST or Kupuna Care for hands-on personal care, and Project Dana for the companionship and errands that prevent complete social withdrawal.

Limitations Families Should Know

Project Dana volunteers are not trained dementia care specialists. They cannot:

• Administer medications or provide medical care
• Manage aggressive behaviors or sundowning episodes
• Provide overnight supervision
• Guarantee specific schedules (volunteer availability varies)

If your parent requires nursing-level care or exhibits wandering behavior that demands constant supervision, Project Dana alone is insufficient. It works best as one layer in a multi-resource plan — supplementing professional care, not replacing it.

Getting Started With Project Dana

Contact Project Dana directly to request a volunteer match. Wait times vary — Oahu urban areas typically have shorter waits than rural communities.

While you wait for a volunteer match, the Hawaii Dementia & Memory Care Guide walks you through every program available to your family — from Med-QUEST eligibility and spend-down planning to facility vetting checklists and legal authority documents — so you can build a complete support plan rather than relying on any single resource.

See more Hawaii guides →