Housing – Areas of Focus

GRANT CATEGORIES

Direct Financial Assistance
Lodging and Shelter

Direct Financial Assistance 

Catholic Charities Hawai‘i - $5,000,000
Awarded 9/11/23 - $2,000,000
Awarded 5/6/24 - $3,000,000
Catholic Charities Hawai‘i (CCH) provides a range of social services with a focus on those with the greatest need. CCH has helped more than 2,600 fire survivors with housing-related and other financial assistance to cover basic needs and other day-to-day living expenses. Initial funding provided 4-6 months assistance to Maui residents displaced statewide, covering expenses including rent, utility, security deposits, moving expenses, furniture, replace or repair necessary personal property, travel, transportation, other basic needs, and more. CCH also provided support services such as financial literacy, case management, and counseling to work towards healing and sustainability. As CCH provides disaster case management to survivors, which helps create a recovery plan and connects households to community resources, the organization continues to assist those impacted by the fires with immediate and long-term recovery supports. Subsequent funding will be used to facilitate direct financial assistance to households that are FEMA ineligible and/or ineligible for any other financial or housing assistance. Referrals will be vetted through the disaster case management process, which can be accessed through intake with Aloha United Way's 2-1-1 Helpline.

Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (10/3/23) - $250,000
The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) administers the Host Housing Support Program, which offers financial support to households who are housing individuals and families displaced by the Maui wildfires. During the initial phase of this pilot program, eligible host households can receive $375 per person, per month based on the size of the displaced family being housed. Hosts can receive the monthly stipend for up to four people (up to $1,500), for up to six months. The financial assistance provided through the program can be used to cover additional costs incurred by host families, such as rent, utilities, and groceries. The stipends are also aimed at helping host families make reasonable and necessary home improvements that will better equip them to host, including: purchasing furniture, light fixtures, housewares; putting the funds toward an accessory dwelling unit; or minor improvements to ensure safety, comfort, and other essential criteria in host homes. CNHA estimates the pilot will provide support to approximately 500 individuals. Grant funds will go toward administrative and staff capacity needed to distribute $4 million committed by the American Red Cross. Applications can be completed at CNHA's Kākoʻo Maui Resource Hub in Kahului's Maui Mall, or on CNHA's website.

CNHA Host Housing Support Program (12/19/23) - $750,000
CNHA is increasing the support amount provided to eligible host households to $500 per housed individual, for a maximum monthly stipend of up to $2,000 for up to six months. The previous limit was $375 per individual, under a $1,500 monthly cap. Households across Hawai‘i that have taken in individuals or families displaced by the Maui wildfires still have the opportunity to secure financial support through the program that was launched in October.

Downtown Athletic Club of Hawai‘i (7/11/24) - $325,000
The Downtown Athletic Club of Hawai‘i (DACH) has supported sports in Hawai‘i since 2012 and has been a strong supporter of Lahainaluna High School (LHS) since last August's wildfires, replacing sports equipment and resources so that students could participate in sporting events. DACH has pivoted to supporting the post-secondary needs of recently graduated seniors at LHS, facilitating the first year of a financial aid program that addresses financial shortfalls with scholarships for those attending post-secondary school out-of-state. Funds awarded to DACH cover gaps in financial aid needs of no more than $25,000 to ensure the students can attend schools outside of Hawai‘i, often for participation in athletics programs. DACH will make payments directly to university or college financial aid offices and the LHS counseling department will manage engagement with students during the school year.

Hawaiʻi Community Lending (3/27/24) - $5,000,000
The mission of Hawaiʻi Community Lending, Inc. (HCL), a nonprofit 501(c)3, Native Community Development Financial Institution certified by the US Department of the Treasury, is to increase access to credit and capital for Native Hawaiians and other underserved populations residing in Hawaiʻi. The program is expanding its current work, deploying the Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program assisting owner-occupant homeowners with FEMA/SBA applications and appeals, a grant-funded public insurance adjuster, emergency credit counseling, loss mitigation to obtain first mortgage workouts, and access to other grants and low-interest loans to help fund their temporary living situations, existing mortgage payoffs, and future rebuilds. The program will support an estimated 500 Lahaina owner-occupant homeowners with navigation and support services to ensure they don't lose their homes.

Maui Economic Opportunity - $8,500,000
Awarded 8/14/23 - $250,000
Awarded 8/25/23 - $3,250,000
Awarded 10/24/23 - $5,000,000
Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. (MEO) has been providing low-income and underserved communities in Maui County with financial stability, support, and economic security for the past 55 years. In response to the Maui wildfires and in coordination with the Hawai‘i Department of Human Services (DHS), MEO will use funding to support 190 households who do not qualify for government emergency response aid due to their legal status. DHS has contracted with MEO to launch the Non-Recurring Short-Term (NRST) assistance program, which aims to help eligible households with incomes at or below 350 percent of the Federal Poverty Level and who have either experienced property damage or loss, lost earnings, or lost employment because of the wildfire disaster. Funding supports those without legal status, while DHS Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) supports those with legal status.

Maui Economic Opportunity Inc. (MEO) is providing support to individuals and families affected by the Maui fires by securing transitional housing for 6 to 12 months. It will pay rental deposits and provide rental assistance until the individual or family stabilizes. MEO will also assist with job searches and providing essentials not provided through other relief organizations. It is also using its existing transportation network to provide transportation for those in need.

Maui Family Support Services (11/17/23) - $100,000
Maui Family Support Services has been providing direct support to families with children, ensuring basic needs are met for many of Maui's displaced households as well as providing every participating and referred family with disaster preparedness kits. Funding will support the organization’s pivot to focus on addressing unmet needs for families still facing hardships, including deposits for rentals, security deposits for utilities, childcare subsidies, and more.

Maui United Way - $5,000,000
Awarded 8/30/23 - $1,500,000
Awarded 9/8/23 - $3,500,000
Maui United Way (MUW) established the Emergency Financial Assistance (EFA) Program in response to the disaster's profound impact and its community's urgent needs. The EFA Program provides direct financial assistance to adult individuals who reside in the fire-affected zones through digital payment (Venmo, Paypal, direct deposit to individuals’ bank accounts) or pre-paid VISA cards (physical and electronic). MUW estimates that between 9,000 – 13,000 individuals have been affected. To date, MUW has already received nearly 9,000 applications, committed $5 million to EFA, and is seeking additional support to operate this program.

Women Helping Women - $179,592
Awarded 8/22/23 - $125,000
Awarded 7/5/24 - $54,592
The mission of Women Helping Women is to end domestic violence through advocacy, education and prevention, and to offer safety, support, and empowerment to women and children facing domestic violence. Initial funding supported security deposits, rental assistance, utilities, transportation, food, and hygiene and other needs for six months for 28 individuals, including children, affected by the wildfires who are seeking to escape domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Subsequent funding will continue to support 25 women and children, until October 2024, as they transition to other resources.

Lodging and Shelter 

American Red Cross (Pacific Islands Region) (8/11/23) - $250,000
The American Red Cross is serving as a one-stop-shop for disaster recovery efforts on Maui. The primary focus is sheltering people who have been displaced by the fires; the Red Cross is operating three shelters on island, serving thousands each day. These shelters include Mayor Hannibal Tavares Community Center, Maui High School, and Maui War Memorial. All shelters are at capacity with 1,000 to 2,000 people accessing services each day. The Red Cross is partnering with the Salvation Army to provide food at these shelters, and is coordinating at least 300 volunteers to staff these locations and help with the crisis.

Arc of Maui (8/14/23) - $60,000
Arc of Maui County is supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who were impacted by the Maui wildfires and forced to relocate to a safe, temporary home in Wailuku. Staff have worked with donation centers to acquire some basic items, but now also needs to purchase specialized items such as beds and medical equipment. Arc of Maui’s own staff have directly impacted by the wildfires, limiting the number of staff able to work to serve clients.

Boy Scouts of America, Aloha Council (9/6/23) - $50,000
The Boy Scouts of America, Aloha Council has been activated by the County of Maui to be a relief shelter and assisting organization. Currently Camp Maluhia, its campsite on Maui, has lodged nearly 100 Red Cross workers staying intermittently at the camp. It is completely underwriting the cost of hosting the relief workers, and funds will cover staff time, rental costs, utilities, and transportation.

Family Life Center - $5,250,000
Awarded 8/15/23 - $250,000
Awarded 9/20/24 - $5,000,000
A 501(c)3 nonprofit established on Maui in 1982, Family Life Center (FLC) is a trusted social service provider on Maui, Molokaʻi, and Kauaʻi offering emergency shelter, homeless outreach, rental assistance, and case management for permanent supportive housing. FLC is building ‘Ohana Hope Village, an interim housing community in Kahului to provide 88 single-family-style temporary homes with private bathrooms and kitchenettes for those displaced by the Maui wildfires. Currently 16 units are occupied by Maui fire survivors. ‘Ohana Hope Village’s trauma-informed design, developed by Hawaii Off Grid, creates an environment conducive to healing for fire victims, with site plans that include a vast garden, playgrounds, community service centers, and private meeting space for case management and permanent housing navigation services. 'Ohana Hope Village will prioritize housing for multi-generational or large families impacted by the Maui fires who otherwise cannot find suitable housing solutions. Initial funding in August 2023 supported the organization's preparation of the lot for the housing project. Subsequent funds will support all above-ground needs of the program to ensure the remaining 72 units become permittable for occupancy.

Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i (2/23/24) - $65,000
Grassroot Institute of Hawai’i (GIH) is a nonprofit policy research organization that seeks to educate the people of Hawai’i about the values of individual liberty, economic freedom, and limited, accountable government. Since 2001, GIH has informed Hawai‘i lawmakers, news media, and the general public about key policy issues, and proposed recommendations with the goal of making Hawai‘i a place where we can all thrive and prosper. With support from the Maui Strong Fund, GIH will conduct research and provide policy recommendations informed by past disaster experiences in Hawai‘i, including Hurricane ‘Iniki on Kaua‘i, to help residents, as well as the use of zoning and building regulation changes to expedite recovery efforts. GIH will publish a detailed policy report listing ways state and county officials can make it easier for impacted residents from the Maui wildfires to rebuild their destroyed or damaged homes and businesses.

Hawaiian Community Assets (10/20/23) - $250,000
Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA), in partnership with Hawai‘i Community Lending, has launched a two-phase Maui Response and Recovery Strategy to increase public awareness and access to homeowner insurance, disaster assistance, and grants and loans for recovery and rebuilding. HCA will conduct a public awareness campaign to inform homeowners and renters about filing insurance claims, disaster recovery assistance, mortgage forbearances, and protection from scams. The program includes direct financial support to clients, who will work with HCA counselors to create a personalized six-month emergency budget plan. All awarded funds, and other funds raised for Maui by HCA, will be used for direct services and direct financial assistance to address social determinants of health facing those impacted by the fires.

Hawaiʻi Community Lending - $3,150,000
Awarded 4/1/24 - $150,000
Awarded 9/20/24 - $3,000,000
Hawaiʻi Community Lending (HCL), a nonprofit 501(c)3, Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certified by the US Department of the Treasury, is Hawaiʻi’s premier nonprofit mortgage lender, helping local and Hawaiian families navigate the path to homeownership. HCL is hosting Affordable Housing training with national organization Rural Community Assistance Corp (RCAC), for nonprofit housing developers based in Hawaiʻi, with HCL’s initial Maui Strong Fund grant funding the participation costs of Maui-based organizations that will be contributing to the long-term housing goals of the Maui recovery effort. The training will build developers’ capacity to complete affordable housing projects in Hawaiʻi and help them secure additional impact investments. Subsequent funding supports the Lahaina Comprehensive Lot Survey, a program HCL is coordinating to bolster rebuilding efforts by contracting local land surveyors to conduct comprehensive lot surveys that will ultimately expedite the surveying completion timeline. By covering the cost for initial surveys, the program will save 500 homeowners enrolled in the Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program an estimated $4.5 million.

HomeAid Hawai‘i (9/22/23) - $250,000
HomeAid Hawai‘i, a nonprofit developer known for development of kauhale villages, has the tools to immediately support government with displaced residents in need of dignified short- and long-term housing solutions until their communities can be rebuilt. HomeAid Hawai‘i is acting in coordination with government agencies to catalyze immediate development of short- to long-term homes for displaced residents. HomeAid needs the additional human resources to fulfill their support role in recovery, which necessitates the current funding that will be used to support a business operations manager and staff to facilitate partnerships, logistics, community voice in building designs, and more.

Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center (8/11/23) - $250,000
Ka Hale A Ke Ola is nonprofit organization that serves the houseless. It had a 48-unit homeless shelter and 30 rental units in Lahaina that were all destroyed in the fire, displacing 140 people (50 households). The organization is working actively in rapid-response mode to find housing for its displaced families.

King’s Cathedral and Chapels (8/11/23) - $250,000
King’s Cathedral and Chapels has been sheltering 200 individuals since the beginning of the crisis, and anticipates serving 200 to 400 more at its primary campus in Kahului. The organization is providing daily living essentials to families who have been displaced by the fires, including clothing, meals, showers, first aid, nurses administering medication, shuttles to the airport and immediate shelter. King’s Cathedral will also use funds to purchase cots and bedding to open more comfortable sleeping accommodations in the church building.

Maui Health Foundation (9/20/24) - $2,250,000
The Maui Health Foundation's Housing for Healthcare (HFH) initiative aims to address the shortage of health care professionals on Maui, intensified by the wildfires, which displaced 29 health care providers. The project will construct 16 four-bedroom homes and 15 one-bedroom ʻohana units in Kahului, offering affordable transitional housing for health care professionals impacted by the fires. Funds will directly support the ʻohana units that will be prioritized for fire-affected health care professionals, to be built on Maui Lani Fairways and to ensure health care workers can remain on-island and sustain their jobs in the health care system. Program applicants will be vetted through existing housing intake processes on Maui.

Maui Interim Housing Plan (1/5/24 – Committed) - $50,200,000
Government and nonprofit partners launched the Maui Interim Housing Plan, collectively committing $500 million to create a pool of more than 3,000 stable housing units with 18-month commitments. The collaborative effort brings together the state of Hawai‘i, County of Maui, Hawai‘i Community Foundation, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the American Red Cross. The collective goal is to move all individuals and families who are in short-term hotels into long-term stable housing by July 1, 2024. Maui Strong Fund dollars of $50M are committed to this effort. See the press release here.

Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
(3/18/24) - $10,200,000
As part of the Maui Interim Housing Plan, a grant was made to the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement toward 68 Accessory Dwelling Units for wildfire survivors that will be made available between April and July, 2024, on county-owned property. There will be workforce development opportunities on the project as well via agreements with the labor and construction unions to directly train apprentices on Maui. This project is the pilot of the interim plan that was already Maui County-endorsed and shovel-ready,’ and will provide an option with desired elements (2-3 bedroom with kitchen and bathroom) for families in non-congregate shelters.

HomeAid Hawai‘i  
(4/25/24) - $40,000,000
Also as part of the Maui Interim Housing Plan, a grant was approved to HomeAid Hawai‘i, a non-profit developer of Kauhale communities across the state, in partnership with the Hawai‘i Department of Human Services, to purchase 450 temporary housing units for a development in West Maui. The project is called Ka La‘i Ola, “The Place of Peaceful Recovery,” and is set to provide sustainable housing solutions with a range of unit types spread over 54 acres in the Leiali‘i area of West Maui. The 450 units include studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes, aimed at offering relief and a dignified path to recovery for affected families and individuals for up to five years. In addition to housing, Ka La‘i Ola will also include comprehensive property management and community services, including childcare, healthcare, financial planning, and trauma-informed support to foster healing and recovery. Individuals who will reside at Ka La‘i Ola do not qualify for any type of federal aid. The project will cost approximately $115M in total.

Pukalani Community Church of Nazarene - $210,000
Awarded 8/15/23 - $10,000
Awarded 8/5/24 - $200,000
The Pukalani Community Church of the Nazarene, established in 1988, is committed to serving its community on Maui through various outreach initiatives. Following the fire, initial funding supported its quick mobilization of resources to provide rapid and ongoing emergency shelter and necessities for families directly impacted by the fires. Subsequent funding supports four new two-bedroom homes dedicated to helping fire-affected households, part of the church’s development of transitional housing on its land alongside recovery services like counseling and economic assistance to provide immediate relief and long-term recovery support and to foster a community of healing and resilience on its Pukalani campus.

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