Department of Hawaiian Home Lands receives record $22.3 million federal grant

Today, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it has allocated $22.3 million in Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant funding to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), who serves as both the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and as the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Housing, helped to secure the funding, the highest level ever appropriated by Congress for Native Hawaiian housing.

The record amount, included in this year’s appropriations bill and signed into law in March, is $20.3 million more than was allocated last year.

“This major increase in funding is a big win and means DHHL will have more resources to put people into homes,” Sen. Schatz said.

Hawaiian Homes Commission Chair William J. Ailā, Jr. said the funding will significantly enhance DHHL’s ability to develop more housing units and provide additional housing services to beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.