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Maui Strong awards $7.5M to help struggling families rebuild from wildfires [The Maui News]

    Community Encouraged to Support Homeowner Recommendations for Disaster Recovery Action Plan

    The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, through its Maui Strong Fund, has been awarded $7.5 million to help families on Maui begin rebuilding homes that were lost to the August 2023 wildfires.

    According to organization officials, the investment is part of a new public-private initiative, the Partnership to Rebuild Lahaina, in collaboration with Hawai’i Community Lending and Maui County. The funding will support 77 homeowners with starting or completing reconstruction of their homes.

    According to a news release, HCL will manage the program, working directly with families to determine eligibility, originate affordable loans and connect them with additional financing from local banks. The program aims to unlock an estimated $11.7 million in private and public funding, expanding the impact beyond the initial investment.

    Organizers said that since the wildfire, the community lending group has supported more than 500 Lahaina homeowners through its Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program and the Kānaka Anti-Displacement Fund by providing grants, loans and one-on-one financial navigation.

    These efforts have focused on helping homeowners recover from wildfire impacts by securing financing, accessing construction services and addressing funding gaps.

    The new phase of support focuses on middle-income families who do not qualify for federal assistance, specifically, those earning more than 80% of Maui County’s area median income, or approximately $90,640 for a family of four.

    These families often fall into a gray area of earning too much to receive federal aid, but not enough to rebuild on their own, organizers said.

    To date, the Maui Strong Fund has committed more than $141 million to more than 250 local organizations supporting critical needs across housing, health care, mental health, education, economic recovery and cultural resilience.

    For resources and more information, go to strongerhawaii.org. To learn more about the Maui Strong Fund or to donate, visit hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/strengthening/maui-strong-fund.

    See full article at The Maui News

    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.”

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    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.

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