Skip to content

Loan Relief and Counseling for Workers Impacted by Federal Layoffs and Funding Cuts

HCL Teams Up with HCA to Offer Loan Relief and Counseling for Workers Impacted by Federal Layoffs and Funding Cuts Statewide

Hawaiʻi Community Lending (HCL) and Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA), two local nonprofits committed to housing stability and financial empowerment, announced a joint effort to provide loan relief options and emergency financial counseling to support workers recently laid off by the federal government or impacted by federal funding cuts across the state.

According to the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization’s (UHERO) recent forecast, more than 2,200 federal worker layoffs and an estimated 1,200 additional layoffs are expected across Hawaiʻi due to government downsizing and cuts to federal programs, signaling significant impacts for local families already facing rising costs of food, housing, healthcare and education.

To support those affected, HCL is offering relief options for current borrowers who have lost employment or income and can provide proof of financial hardship:

  • Refinance: May be available to borrowers who have made 12 months of on-time payments on their HCL loan to help lower monthly payments.
  • Forbearance: Pause payments on HCL loans for up to 12 months.
  • Temporary Interest-Only Payments: Make interest-only payments for up to 12 months.
  • Loan Modification: Adjust loan terms to reduce monthly payments.

In partnership, HCA will provide emergency financial counseling to all laid-off federal workers and those impacted by federal funding cuts, including HCL borrowers, to help them:

  • Create emergency household budgets
  • Access benefits and public assistance
  • Receive referrals for rental support, SNAP, and healthcare
  • Prepare for long-term financial stability

Eligible beneficiaries will also receive support in applying for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Emergency Financial Assistance Program, expected to open this month.

“We want our workers and working families in Hawaiʻi to know we see them. We understand the impact layoffs and funding cuts can have on our families and the uncertainty it creates when it comes to paying for food, housing, and healthcare,” said HCL Executive Director Jeff Gilbreath and HCA Executive Director Chelsie Evans in a joint statement. “These layoffs and disinvestment of federal funds are a crisis — and we hope our support provides relief to those experiencing this sudden financial hardship.”

In the coming weeks, HCL and HCA will also release a series of educational videos to help community members understand their rights and options when facing financial instability, including tools to prevent foreclosure. These resources will be available on the HCL and HCA websites and social media platforms.

New Job Opportunities
HCL and HCA encourage laid-off federal workers and those impacted by federal funding cuts to explore employment opportunities with the State of Hawaiʻi and Counties:
• State of Hawaiʻi – Operation Hire Hawaiʻi
• City & County of Honolulu – Federal-to-Municipal Workforce Timeline
• County of Maui – County Jobs
• County of Hawaiʻi – County Jobs
• County of Kauaʻi – County Jobs

For more information or to request support, visit: HawaiiCommunityLending.com | HawaiianCommunity.net

To connect with one of our Navigation Specialists for assistance, Contact Us

About Chanel Josiah

Chanel was born and raised on Oʻahu and now resides on Kaua’i with her husband and seven children. As a 5th-generation Hawaiian Home Lands lessee and homeowner, she has firsthand knowledge of the challenges families face in accessing housing, financial opportunities and resources both on and off homesteads. Her lived experiences and professional expertise inspire her passion for supporting others and strengthen her commitment to helping local and native Hawaiian families secure and sustain homes on their ancestral ‘āina, building lasting stability for themselves and generations to come.

Chanel also serves as the Board President of Pa‘a Lima, a nonprofit organization that offers support services and education to address houselessness, mental health challenges, financial literacy, and income instability. The organization is committed to breaking generational cycles and changing lives, with a special emphasis on supporting youth aging out of foster care.

As Operations Director, Chanel oversees marketing, community engagement, technical assistance, and operations. A key aspect of her role is connecting directly with communities to understand their needs and challenges. Drawing on her personal and professional experiences, Chanel approaches these challenges holistically, blending diverse perspectives to create innovative strategies that drive meaningful and lasting change for the communities she serves. “I’m grateful to be able to share our organization’s moʻomeheu (culture), moʻolelo (story) and kaunu (passion) with communities across Hawaiʻi, partners and investors who believe in the work we do.”

Chanel is inspired by her keiki, motivating her dedication to ensuring they can build their futures here in Hawai’i. She is also inspired by her tūtū kāne, Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox. “He was a fearless kānaka ‘ōiwi champion who encompassed the spirit of aloha ‘āina – the love of his land, and home just as we do now.” Outside of work, Chanel enjoys reading, practicing hula, and spending time at the beach with her ʻohana.

This will close in 0 seconds

About Aikū’ē Kalima

Aikū’ē Kalima, former Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund Manager for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, joins Hawaiʻi Community Lending as its lending director.
Kalima comes to HCL with more than 25 years of experience in community development and mortgage lending. In his new position, Kalima will direct HCL’s consumer, construction, mortgage and small business lending.
“As a native Hawaiian and Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiary, I understand the financial needs for economic development and quality housing for kānaka is great,” said Kalima, who led OHA’s deployment of $9.8 million in loans to 286 native Hawaiians statewide over the last five years. “For over 25 years, I have worked tirelessly at the grassroots level, educating kānaka on the skills necessary to achieve the dream of homeownership and providing resources to achieve financial sustainability. I plan to continue serving the lāhui empowering ‘ohana and communities as the lending director for Hawai‘i Community Lending.”
Kalima takes the reins of HCL’s $16-million revolving loan fund and will oversee a team of seven staff members statewide. “HCL is honored to have Aikū’ē join us in our mission to help tackle our housing crisis by funding native Hawaiian and local families to build, buy and save homes from foreclosure,” said HCL Executive Director Jeff Gilbreath. “He has proven leadership in both the public and private sectors and has the passion to get families on the land through homeownership.”

This will close in 0 seconds

Sign up for our e-newsletter

Subscribe to receive news and updates.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

 

Invalid email address

This will close in 0 seconds

About Sean

Sean Perez loves hearing about the great things Hawai‘i Community Lending is doing for the Hawaiian community. And now as HCL’s new director of finance, he is excited to be part of the team making it happen.

“I enjoy hearing the success stories of new homes that we will soon be building and finding for these families,” he says. “HCL’s mission resonates well with me and my passion to help others and assist our community.”

To this end, Sean will manage HCL’s finances, accounting, compliance, and information technology matters; working with HCL Executive Director Jeff Gilbreath and supervising three division managers. He comes to HCL with over eight years of experience in financial management in the nonprofit and private, for-profit sectors having worked in the legal, social service, health, and telecommunications industries as well as with the US Attorney’s Office of Guam and CNMI. In his previous job as director of operations for the Hawai‘i State Bar Association where he was responsible for directing the organization’s finances, Sean grew his experience in nonprofit financial management and gained extensive background in accounting, grants management, IT and human resources. These skills, in conjunction with his drive to work with the Hawai‘i community through nonprofit assistance, led Sean to HCL.

Currently living in Honolulu, Sean was born in Tamuning, Guam. When he was 10 years old, he moved to Oxnard, Calif., where he attended school and eventually community college. The Air Force Reserves beckoned him after graduation, leading him to serve three and a half years as an aircrew flight equipment technician at March Air Reserve Base. After his military service, Sean returned to his childhood home of Guam, where he went to college to obtain a degree in finance and economics, and then to pursue an MBA.

On O‘ahu, Sean enjoys family life with his fiancée and toddler son; fishing and surfing in his time off. “I look forward to accomplishing great things with HCL and creating new success stories,” he says.

This will close in 0 seconds

About Nikki

Nikki Hollern is a mother of five, born and raised in Upcountry Maui, but she spent the last 15 years in the beautiful town of Lahaina. Lahaina stole her heart, with the people and the town being unlike any other. After the fire, her family had to relocate to Kahului.

Her heart remains in Lahaina, and her goal is to help this amazing community get back to where they belong. She feels blessed to have the opportunity to be part of the HCL ‘ohana, helping navigate this incredibly hard time and hopefully serving as a guiding light to assist the community in returning home and coming back even stronger.

This will close in 0 seconds

Skip to content