Maui family displaced by 2023 wildfires becomes 100th approved for Ho‘okumu Hou First-Time Homebuyer program

Eighteen households displaced by the 2023 Maui Wildfires received their home-shopping letters on Tuesday through the County of Maui’s Ho‘okumu Hou First-Time Homebuyer Opportunity Program, bringing the total issued through the program to 100.

Recipients gathered with their ʻohana at the Lahaina Resource Center to celebrate their next step toward homeownership. The First-Time Homebuyer Opportunity Program provides eligible households up to $600,000 to bridge the gap between what they can finance through a mortgage and the cost of purchasing an eligible home within Maui County. Depending on household needs, assistance may help with a down payment, closing costs, reducing the mortgage principal or lowering the mortgage interest rate. 

A shopping letter confirms that a household has been approved to begin searching for an eligible home within its approved price range. Program staff and housing partners continue supporting recipients through the steps needed to complete their purchases.

“Hoʻokumu Hou is a County of Maui program that was developed through the leadership of our Office of Recovery, and the only program of its kind in the nation,” Mayor Richard Bissen said. “We didn’t have a blueprint for this. Nothing like it had been done before, but instead of accepting what couldn’t be done, our County team asked what we could do differently to help our families. And through creativity, persistence and collaboration, we built something new that was solutions-oriented, broke down barriers and created opportunities that put our people first.”

The program is administered through the County of Maui Office of Recovery with funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery. As of Oct. 20, 2026, the program has awarded more than $24.6 million to support eligible homebuyers, with 43 home purchases completed and more than 100 family members living in those homes.

Among today’s recipients was Nancy Takafua, whose family home was lost in the wildfire. She and husband Hiva – accompanied by their eight young children – received the final shopping letter of the day from Mayor Bissen, bringing the total number of shopping letter recipients to 100.

“Becoming homeowners would mean more to our family than words can explain,” Nancy Takafua said. “After losing everything in the Lahaina fire and having to live in temporary housing, all we have wanted is a stable place to call home again. With eight children, having that security and knowing we won’t have to keep worrying about where we will live would be such a blessing.”

For the 100 approved households, the program has offered a path toward long-term stability in disaster recovery: a home they own, and the opportunity to remain rooted on Maui. 

“We are a hardworking family just trying to give our kids the best life possible,” Takafua said. “Our children are our biggest motivation, and everything we do is to give them a better future. “This opportunity gives us hope for a fresh start and a future we have been working so hard toward.”

Sen. Brian Schatz, who provided written remarks for today’s ceremony, said, “We fought for this federal funding because we knew that for Maui to recover fully, it needs its people. And what people need above all else is the safety and security of a stable home.”

Rep. Jill Tokuda noted that rebuilding after the Maui wildfires is about more than putting a roof over your head. “It’s about helping survivors heal and ensuring local families can continue to call this place home for generations to come,” she said. “Our deep connection to the land and to the communities we call home is what makes Hawaiʻi so special, and why this moment is so important. These 100 shopping letters represent a meaningful step forward in that healing process, helping families rebuild not just their homes, but their lives and their future here on Maui.”

While the application period for the First-Time Homebuyer Opportunity Program closed in September 2025, other opportunities for housing support remain available to those impacted by the 2023 Maui Wildfires.

Ho‘okumu Hou’s Single-Family Homeowner Reconstruction and Reimbursement programs provide assistance to eligible homeowners who have yet to rebuild or who have completed reconstruction of their wildfire-destroyed home. According to the County’s Office of Recovery, of the estimated 2,746 housing units lost in the 2023 wildfires, over 88% are on a pathway toward rebuilding in Lahaina and Upcountry.

“From the beginning, I made a commitment that bringing our fire-impacted families home would be our County’s first priority,” Bissen said. “Our commitment doesn’t stop at 88%, and it doesn’t stop at 100 shopping letters. Our commitment is to every fire-impacted family working to find their way home.

“This is what community-led, government-supported recovery looks like,” Bissen continued. “Our County taking the lead, working alongside our partners and never losing sight of the people we’re here to serve.”

For more information about these programs and other Ho‘okumu Hou programs, visit hookumuhou.mauicounty.gov.