This week, many in West Maui hotel shelters were reeling after learning that as of Nov. 30 some hotels were ending Red Cross contracts or reducing rooms in the program.
Moana Yoneyama, who lost her home in the Lahaina fire, said up until a few days ago her family was locked in an endless cycle of moving from one noncongregated Red Cross hotel shelter to another, and she couldn’t allow herself to even think about Thanksgiving or the coming Christmas holidays.
“I wanted to put up a Christmas tree, but I was afraid. I didn’t know where we would be living. We’ve had to move frequently without much notice,” Yoneyama said. “It’s hard because my daughter has cerebral palsy and she needs routines. We have a big family so I could only allow seven pairs of clothes for each person to make packing up and moving easier.”
Yoneyama said all the changes have made her afraid to answer her phone. Stability was at stake each time the Red Cross called to ask for more proof that she or her husband were eligible for shelter.
But she said she was glad that she answered a recent call from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which offered her family the chance to pursue temporary housing options on other Hawaiian islands, the continental United States or any other U.S.-governed location.
“We decided to relocate to Oahu,” she said. “FEMA approved us for around $3,400 a month in rental assistance for up to 18 months and sent a check for $13,000. We made a place at Kapilina Beach Homes.”
Yoneyama said the decision to leave Maui wasn’t easy, but the family is looking forward to a fresh start.
“We don’t have to drive by all the burned-up places. We don’t have to keep moving or keep searching for a place and not finding anything,” she said. “We don’t have to worry about being evicted from shelter over the holidays as Red Cross contracts end. We can put up a tree and celebrate Christmas. FEMA really came through for our family.”
However, many other displaced survivors are still in hotels and, despite newly added FEMA resources, are struggling to make the transition to interim longer-term housing. The Red Cross said during a community meeting this week that it is committed to finding new shelter space, but that the only hotel agreeing to take new pets is the Maui Seaside Hotel Kahului.
Robert J. Fenton, regional administrator for FEMA Region 9, who was appointed by President Joe Biden as chief federal response coordinator for Maui, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Monday that as of that date 6,700 survivors, or just over 2,600 households, were living in 32 hotels participating in the noncongregated shelter program managed by the Red Cross in coordination with the state and funded by FEMA.
The hotel count is down about 16% from the 8,000 peak for individuals and about 35% from the 4,000 peak for households. Some of that is because about 200 individuals, who were homeless before the fire, and 150 to 200 others, who were Compact of Free Association, or undocumented citizens, were determined ineligible. Fenton said homeless individuals were moved to a location that the state set up and the Red Cross is taking care of the COFA and undocumented individuals.
Leaders from Gov. Josh Green to Fenton have promised that no one will be left without a roof over their head; however, the focus now more than 90 days since the fire is to provide resources to get people into interim longer-term housing and out of hotels as soon as possible.
“We want to move people into a much more interim longer-term housing solution — one that can help them for the next 18 months as they determine their long-term plan,” Fenton said.
He added that the “successful recovery is the collective effort not only of the government, nonprofit and private sector, but really the individual working together toward these solutions.”
“We are there to help people with that next step when they are ready to make that next step. If someone is not able to do that, it’s not for a lack of resources or options that have been provided to them. I think the key is that those who can help themselves need to help themselves.”
Fenton said about 2,500 households displaced by the Lahaina fire were renters. He said 1,000 others were homeowners, and about 90% of those were insured. Fenton said about 400 to 500 people who are sheltering in hotels have insurance that covers alternate living expenses, and FEMA has been notifying them that it cannot duplicate funding so “they should be using that to go ahead and lease something.”
Fenton said those living in hotel shelters whose homes were not destroyed and have become habitable now that they have water and power also should be moving out. He said resources are available for those who have mental health hurdles, or worry whether the home is safe to occupy.
It has been more than 60 days since FEMA gave more than 3,500 households two months of upfront rental assistance at the HUD fair market rental rate, Fenton said. He said some that received the upfront rental assistance are now in longer-term housing, while others remain in hotels.
Fenton said more transitions have taken place since FEMA began connecting those with problems to nonprofit wraparound funding that can help with startup moving costs.
“Just last week 21 additional people started renting on their own,” he said, adding that about 100 households have sought the next three-month rental assistance increment.
Fenton said that after the first 60 days of the disaster FEMA made additional assistance available to help people move into interim longer-term housing. At the beginning of November, he said FEMA increased monthly rental assistance to 175% of the HUD fair market rental rate.
He said about 200 out of 1,500 people have expressed interest in FEMA’s offer of a transportation program, which pays round-trip transportation to relocate them for at least six months to another area, where they will receive rental assistance.
FEMA also started a direct leasing program a couple of weeks ago and has secured about 100 units. He said so far about 20 people have been leased into those units.
“Some people in the hotels have turned them down; that’s a concern,” Fenton said. He alluded to a final solution. “It’s the one where we provide the most support from the federal government — we’re going to directly lease you a property. Once someone turns that down, then we can no longer fund them in a hotel.”
He said while longer-term rentals are in limited supply on Maui, there is availability.
“People can rent. While we were talking here I went on the other website and I found 100 rentals on Maui underneath $6,000 a month, a lot in the $2,000 to $3,000 range,” Fenton said.
However, many fire-displaced Maui residents say finding affordable solutions is challenging, especially in West Maui.
Lahaina Strong launched a grassroots effort, “Lahaina Strong Hui: Fishing for Dignified Housing,” on Nov. 10 on the public access portion of Kaanapali Beach in front of Whaler’s Village and West Maui hotels. The group said it plans to keep fishing poles and overnight tents on the beach until Maui Mayor Richard Bissen and Green used their legal authority to convert short-term rentals into interim longer-term housing.
Displaced fire survivor Charles Nahale said he supports Lahaina Strong’s position and expects the number of people sleeping in overnight tents to grow — a sight that is especially poignant at the holidays.
“I’ve tried. I can’t find anything that I can afford,” said Nahale, whose latest hotel shelter placement in Kapalua ends Nov. 30. “Living with so much uncertainty is overwhelming, especially since the holidays are so focused on home. I bought two small Christmas trees, but I took them back. They made me more depressed.”
Green has not forced Maui short-term rentals to become longer-term housing. However, his latest emergency proclamation added two provisions to encourage hotels, motels and condominiums to make units available for displaced fire survivors. One allows condominium owners and associations to exceed time limits in governing documents. Another exempts housing agreements for displaced fire survivors from landlord-tenant statutes unless specified in a tenancy agreement.
Carl Hu, an owner at the Honua Kai, lobbied for the provision, which he hopes “nullifies all stay limits so owners are now free to rent their unit to a displaced resident as long as they want.”
At one time, Hu said 1,500 evacuees were at risk of displacement when Honua Kai’s board ordered owners that were housing fire survivors to keep Red Cross contracts to the 60-day rental limit in the governing documents.
Fenton said FEMA wants to add short-term rentals to its direct leasing program, and has asked a number of large vacation rental companies to sign up for one-year leases, with the ability to extend for six months.
He said most owners want to use their units over the holidays, so it likely will be January before they enter into agreements.
Expedia Group told the Star-Advertiser in a statement, “We continue to encourage Vrbo partners across Hawaii to offer their properties to residents in need through the Hawaii Fire Relief Housing Program, a critical effort supporting housing for displaced residents.”
Airbnb also is engaging with the state and county to explore how hosts can support longer-term housing solutions. Airbnb.org, the nonprofit arm of Airbnb, provided free emergency stays for over 2,000 people that needed short-term housing after the fires. However, the nonprofit has directed guests to the American Red Cross for longer-term housing assistance.