Maui to receive more than $35M in federal funding to rebuild public and senior housing destroyed in fires

$35M to rebuild public and senior housing destroyed in fires

US Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) announced that the Hawai‘i Public Housing Authority will receive more than $35 million in federal funding to rebuild and restore federal public housing facilities that were damaged and destroyed during the Maui fires last year.

The new funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will help restore the David Malo Circle and Pi‘ilani Elderly Homes and Community Center facilities to pre-disaster design and function.

“This funding will help restore dozens of low-income rental units that were destroyed in the fires as fast as possible,” said Senator Schatz, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Housing. “Housing remains the number one priority in Lahaina’s recovery, and we’re doing everything we can to bring federal resources to support.”

A combined 60 low-income rental units at David Malo Circle and Pi‘ilani Elderly Homes and Community Center were completely destroyed during the fires.

$20 Billion in aid for Maui, other disaster-affected communities

As part of the second tranche of a bipartisan appropriations package that Congress passed last week, US Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) helped secure $20.2 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund which helps Maui and other communities across the country recover from disasters.

The funding is in addition to $16 billion Congress allocated for the DRF last fall. Schatz also secured a provision directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to report on its progress in providing housing to fire survivors on Maui and to ensure that it is considering the local economy and rental market in its recovery work.

“As the recovery in Lahaina continues, this new funding for the Disaster Relief Fund will help ensure federal aid keeps flowing in the months ahead,” said Senator Schatz, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “We’re working as hard as we can to deliver additional federal resources and address the greatest and most pressing needs, including housing.”