UHERO: Disabled Maui residents still face barriers to recovery 2 years post-wildfire

Two years after the 2023 Maui wildfires, many disabled residents remain far behind in rebuilding their homes, livelihoods and health, according to a new report from the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization.

UHERO’s study, Recovery Through a Disability Lens: Impacts of the 2023 Maui Wildfires on Disability Equity and Shared Prosperity, is the first comprehensive analysis of how the disaster affected disabled residents in Lahaina. Drawing on two large-scale surveys conducted between 2024 and 2025, the report shows that people with disabilities, both pre-existing and newly acquired after the disaster, continue to face disproportionate hardship two years after the fires. 

Key findings are highlighted below:

Housing: Fewer than half of disabled residents have secured permanent housing. Many remain in temporary or unstable living situations, and disabled renters are more reliant on rental assistance that may soon end.

Employment and Income: Working-age people with disabilities experienced sharper employment and income losses. A disproportionate number of disabled people exited the labor force, risking long-term exclusion from employment and earnings. Newly disabled people saw their household incomes fall by nearly half since the fires.

Health: Disabled people report greater physical and mental health challenges and more barriers to healthcare access than others.

Assistance and Unmet Needs: Disabled residents report higher unmet needs, from housing and healthcare to transportation and financial aid. More than one-quarter received no assistance at all in the last month.

Life Satisfaction: Despite widespread resilience, disabled people consistently report lower well-being and slower recovery progress.

“Disabled residents continue to face steep barriers to recovery, because systems and programs aren’t designed to include them,” said Daniela Bond-Smith, a research economist at UHERO who is the lead author on the report. “Recovery systems need to be inclusive—or they risk deepening existing inequities. But it’s also an opportunity to plan for a more inclusive and resilient future.”

Opportunities to close the gap

The report finds that Hawai‘i’s current framework for disability inclusion in disaster preparedness and recovery is fragmented and largely non-binding. To close the gaps, the authors identify several steps that could make Hawai‘i’s recovery, and future disaster planning, more inclusive:

• Mainstreaming disability equity in disaster management as a cross-cutting principle, not a niche program, including explicit statutory requirements 
• Updating and expanding Hawai‘i’s outdated disability preparedness plan to include recovery
• Setting measurable goals and data systems to monitor progress on disability inclusion at both the state and county levels
• Making disaster assistance fully accessible and expanding disability training for case managers and first responders
• Improving referrals to assistance and services for disabled residents by leveraging healthcare encounters
• Investing in accessible housing and healthcare, and expanding job programs that help disabled residents rejoin and remain in the workforce

The report serves as a resource for policymakers, service providers, and community leaders working to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s disaster recovery systems and ensure that progress reaches ev eryone. 

UHERO is housed in UH Mānoa’s College of Social Sciences.