Hawaiian Council recently announced a statewide host housing support program to provide financial assistance to households that opened their homes to friends, family and neighbors displaced by recent storms.
The initiative will support eligible host households throughout the islands with particular attention to needs on Hawaiʻi Island and Kauaʻi in the aftermaths of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Lala and Hurricane Lowell.
Qualifying hosts can receive $500 per displaced person each month, up to a maximum of $2,000 per host household a month.
This short-term assistance is available as funding allows. Applicants do not need to be of Native Hawaiian descent.
“People across the pae ʻāina have opened their homes and their hearts to help family, friends and neighbors who have been displaced,” said Hawaiian Council Chief Executive Officer Kūhiō Lewis. “We mahalo these families for the aloha they are showing and the kuleana they have embraced to care for others even amid their own challenges after the storms. Their generosity deserves our support, and we want to help ease the financial burden they’ve taken on.”
Hosts must be Hawaiʻi residents providing housing to individuals or families whose primary residence, whether rented or owned, was in a confirmed disaster-impacted area and destroyed or sustained significant structural damage requiring extensive repairs.
How to qualify
- Displaced people or families must live in the host household’s permanent housing accommodations, with access to a safe sleeping area, bathrooms and a kitchen or cooking area. Tents and temporary shelters are not eligible.
- The host’s housing must pass a housing quality standard inspection.
- Hosts must provide the displaced household’s pre-disaster address andbrief explanation of how the assistance will be used.
- Hosts must participate in monthly eligibility assessments. Proof of housing and site visits also could be required.
Applicants will need identification for the host household and displaced adults, a completed W-9 for the host’s head of household and documentation of the displaced household’s pre-disaster address.
Deadline to apply is Oct. 14.
Verifying storm impacts
- On Hawaiʻi Island only, displaced people and families must register with Vibrant Hawaiʻi before their host submits an application. Hawaiian Council is working with Vibrant Hawaiʻi to verify household impacts. Displaced households can can call 802-365-1808 or emai to contact@vibranthawaii.org.
- Hawaiian Council will work with government agencies, local organizations and staff to verify household impacts on all other islands.
- Host households can review eligibility requirements and apply online. Email to kakoomai@hawaiiancouncil.org for any questions or additional information.
“Our community’s generosity is what allows us to do this,” Lewis said.
