Homeless shelter for Lahaina fire survivors filling up

PUUNENE, Maui >> A new pop-up homeless shelter on Maui with air- conditioned group tents, free meals, health services and planned movie nights has drawn considerable use a week after opening to serve people who were homeless in Lahaina before the town was leveled Aug. 8 by fire.

About 60 people have so far moved into the 150-bed complex set up on 1.5 acres of state land amid a largely undeveloped area near Kahului Airport in Puunene adjacent to a state Department of Transportation highways division field office off Hana Highway and not far from nearby developed areas that include Safeway, Costco and Walmart stores.

The project, Pu‘uhonua o Nene, is being managed by nonprofit organization Project Vision Hawaii for the state Department of Human Services.

Maui County, HDOT and many community organizations and businesses, including Maui Medic Healers, Maui Rapid Responders, Na Kia‘i o Maui, Adaptive Maui and Malama Maui Nui, also have contributed to establishing the refuge for homeless adults affected by the fire that killed at least 98 people.

“This place is phenomenal,” said Bill Jackson, a 63-year-old former business owner who has been homeless on Maui off and on for eight years and escaped the fire by jumping into the ocean. “This is just based out of love. We’re all in this same thing together with a cause of just helping each other out.”

Damon Johnson, 45, moved to Maui on July 7 following family but has had no housing prospects since then. He also was homeless in Lahaina during the disaster, and said Pu‘uhonua o Nene has been a peaceful, safe place with tons of support.

“This is like a miracle for me,” he said.

Bob Wardlaw, director of social services at Project Vision, said use so far of the shelter is good.

“The need is clearly here,” he said.

Only adults without minor children who were homeless in Lahaina at the time of the fire are being accepted at Pu‘uhonua o Nene, though use will be broadened soon to serve homeless individuals from other parts of the island.

Standing up Pu‘uhonua o Nene was done quickly in response to the fire, though outreach efforts to reach more homeless from Lahaina are continuing.

Darren “Crush” Bidele, who was sitting on the curb of a Longs Drugs parking lot in Lahaina on Tuesday with no shelter prospects of his own, said the general concept of the new shelter appealed to him.

But the 35-year Maui resident, who is 55, couldn’t fathom how to get there and was distraught over losses in the fire.

“I’m just sitting here so depressed,” he said. “It’s really tough.”

Bidele said an aunt he lived with in Lahainaluna died in the fire and that he has been homeless since being discharged from a hospital a few weeks ago after escaping the inferno driven by fierce winds.

“I’ve just been really upset about my aunt,” he said. “I’m sitting here crying about it all the time.”

According to a survey in January that attempts to count the number of homeless people statewide in person, 387 homeless people were identified on Maui. Central Maui had the most counted at 155. Lahaina was second most at 113, which represented a decline from 139 a year earlier.

It is often challenging to convince some segments of the homeless community to accept group shelter, and that can be further elevated when a shelter is far from the place a person has been living without shelter.

On Maui the circumstances are extraordinary given that the fire burned 2,168 acres that included parks, other public places, business areas and about 3,500 homes. Most of this area comprising nearly all of Lahaina town remains off limits to the general public.

Among about 2,200 buildings lost to the fire was a complex with 48 emergency shelter units for families and individuals transitioning from homelessness to permanent housing, and 30 long-term rental apartments.

The loss of this complex run by Ka Hale a ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers displaced more than 140 people, 25 of whom could be transferred to the organization’s emergency housing shelter in Wailuku.

There also was urgency to open a new shelter for Lahaina’s homeless population because an initial period where fire evacuees could stay in hotels mainly in West Maui without documenting that they lost housing to the fire was ending Sept. 29. This deadline was relaxed, and DHS expects more homeless leaving hotel rooms will move to Pu‘uhonua o Nene in the coming days.

Jackson, for example, was able to shelter at the Hyatt Regency Maui in Kaanapali for about 30 days.

Under Federal Emergency Management Agency policy, the hotel accommodations were intended only for people who lost housing in the fire, which excludes the homeless, though no one had to document such loss until Sept. 29 when a “safe harbor” period ended.

So, state officials and partners worked in haste to provide an alternative.

“It is important that all Maui wildfire survivors have access to the necessary resources to heal,” Gov. Josh Green said in a Sept. 28 statement announcing the shelter’s planned opening the next day.

“DHS’s mission is for all people of Hawaii to thrive,” Joseph Campos II, the agency’s deputy director, added in a statement Oct. 1.

A wide array of amenities, services and activities are part of the shelter made up of about 15 insulated military-grade group tents each with air conditioning, carpeting and 10 to 12 cots made up with pillows, sheets and blankets. Several other tents on-site are for supporting uses including dining, social services and medical care.

The tent complex is also outfitted with restrooms, showers, a laundry facility, parking, secure storage and wi-fi. Pets are welcome, mail service is available and free breakfast, lunch and dinner are being provided.

Bus transportation for fire survivors to and from the shelter site also has been provided, and a gardening area is being established.

Green also said that state-funded disaster case managers will work with each survivor at the shelter to develop a recovery plan.

As part of the Oct. 1 announcement, Noelani Ahia with Maui Medic Healers Hui described available activities.

“What they are going to gain here is community, what they are going to gain here is people to talk story with, people to play music with, movie night, art projects, ag, growing food and building our village,” Ahia said in a statement.

There are some requirements to stay, including no smoking outside of designated areas and no alcohol use. Though there is no curfew, tenants must be on-site at least once every 24 hours to ensure their continued residency.

Also, Pu‘uhonua o Nene is only for adults without minor children. DHS has been working to secure additional resources to support homeless families with minor children, and the American Red Cross has been allowing these families to remain in hotels until an alternative is available.

Green, DHS and other project partners said survivors deserve options and agency in choosing their path forward. It is hoped that more homeless adults in need on Maui will take advantage of the new shelter.

“It took an incredible effort from so many people to transform this empty space into a village and a community,” Project Vision Executive Director Darrah Kauhane said in a statement. “This type of work is a great example of our holistic approach to healing through health, culture, wellness, and acceptance.”

TO CONTACT PUUHONUA O NENE

>> 808-754-1241

>> www.projectvisionhawaii.org

>> mauistrong@projectvisionhawaii.org