Hawaiian Council today announced a statewide Host Housing Support Program to provide financial assistance to households that have opened their homes to friends,  family and neighbors displaced by recent storms, including Hurricanes Lala and Lowell. The initiative will support eligible host households across the Hawaiian Islands, with particular attention to needs on Hawaiʻi Island and Kauaʻi.

Qualifying hosts can receive $500 per displaced person each month, up to a maximum of $2,000 per host household per month. This short-term assistance will be available as funding allows to help ease the financial burden on households providing a safe place for displaced friends and family to stay. 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 Kūhiō Lewis, CEO of Hawaiian Council. “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 was destroyed or sustained significant structural damage requiring extensive repairs.

HOW TO QUALIFY

• Displaced individuals or families must be living 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, and a brief explanation of how the assistance will be used.
• Hosts must participate in monthly eligibility assessments. Proof of housing and site visits may also 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.

The deadline to apply for the Housing Support Program is Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026.

VERIFYING STORM IMPACTS

• On Hawaiʻi Island only, displaced individuals 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 contact Vibrant Hawaiʻi at 802-365-1808 or contact@vibranthawaii.org.
• On all other islands, Hawaiian Council will work with government agencies, local organizations and its staff to verify household impacts.
• Host households can review eligibility requirements and apply at www.kakoomai.org/host-program. For questions or application assistance, email kakoomai@hawaiiancouncil.org.

Hawaiian Council’s experience supporting families after the 2023 Maui wildfires helped inform the program and its understanding of the needs of displaced families and host households. Contributions to the Hawaiian Council’s Kākoʻo Mai Fund and a grant from TY Management for storm recovery have made this support possible.

“Our community’s generosity is what allows us to do this,” Lewis added. “We mahalo everyone who has donated to Kākoʻo Mai and extend a special mahalo to TY Management for its generous grant to help families recover from the storms.