Maui Strong Fund Providing $40M To Help House Fire Survivors
The 450-unit Ka La’i Ola complex will be constructed in West Maui for families that do not qualify for FEMA assistance.
The Hawaii Community Foundation is providing a $40 million grant through its Maui Strong Fund to support construction of the state’s $115 million, 450-unit Ka La’i Ola interim housing development for fire survivors, the foundation announced Thursday.
Ka La’i Ola, which means “The Place of Peaceful Recovery,” is being developed in partnership with the nonprofit , which builds homes for people at risk of homelessness.
The project is being built on 54 acres of state-owned land in the Leialii area of West Maui. It will include studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom modular furnished homes for families that do not qualify for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for up to five years, according to a foundation statement.
Ka La’i Ola will provide childcare, healthcare, financial planning and trauma support for its residents.
Phase 1 is expected to be completed in August, with the remainder of the units finished by the end of the year, according to Lauren Nahme, senior vice president of HCF’s Maui Recovery Effort.
The foundation began the the morning after the Aug. 8 wildfires to support Maui’s immediate and long-term recovery needs. So far, the fund has raised about $190 million, with more than $90 million being awarded to grantees, the foundation said.
This grant is part of the foundation’s $50 million commitment to the Maui Interim Housing Plan that was made in January with the state, Maui County, FEMA, the American Red Cross and Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.
Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
