A little over one month ago, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement held its first Native Hawaiian Convention on the U.S. continent. The goal of the convention was to build closer connections to the Hawaiians who have moved away from Hawaii, many of them simply “priced out of paradise.”
During the convention, Hawaiians who felt forced to leave Hawaii shared the deep pain many of them feel as a result. This problem is not new. It has plagued Hawaii for decades now. Yet, what is perhaps new is an executive administration with the political will to try to tackle this crippling problem.
The governor’s emergency proclamation (EP) on housing is a bold move. But the housing crisis needs bold. It’s a big problem needing an equally big solution. An attempt to solve this crisis is long overdue and it deserves a chance to succeed.
As Hawaiians, this crisis is deeply personal for us. We, as a group, are disproportionately impacted by this and the houselessness crises. We are 40% of the houseless population. We are disproportionately represented among poverty rates and unemployment rates. We have the lowest median household incomes.
We have the lowest homeownership rates, and this is in our own homeland.
More than 29,000 Hawaiian Home Land beneficiaries remain waiting for homestead leases. Hundreds, if not thousands, have died waiting.
We can appreciate concern over environmental and cultural resources, but frankly, the many Hawaiians and community leaders heavily involved in this effort are very capable of balancing resource protection against ensuring people are sheltered. Hawaiians have a long history of balancing such needs and have shown greater adeptness in doing so sustainably. We have no reason to believe that we are suddenly incapable of doing so now.
The need for affordable and workforce housing is a community crisis. And the enormity of the problem has never deterred our community leaders.
It’s why groups like Hawaii Community Foundation and Aloha United Way have partnered on much-needed programs like the ALICE Initiative Cohort, and why entities like the Office of Hawaiian Affairs have formally prioritized quality housing as a critical need for their beneficiaries.
Groups have been doing what they can with what resources they have, but this EP infuses the statewide coordination and political will that has been missing from this fight.
This EP needs to work — and we are willing to do the hard work to make sure it does. We are losing too many Hawaiians and multi-generational families to the continent. We have made Hawaii unaffordable for the working class. Teachers, nurses, firefighters, store clerks, and the multitude of hard-working local people who keep our state running should not have to live paycheck to paycheck. They shouldn’t need two or three jobs just to get by. This just isn’t how we should ask our friends, family, and neighbors to live.
We are driving away our kupuna, who live on fixed incomes. We are driving away our children, who see homeownership and financial stability in Hawaii as a pipe dream. And what kind of Hawaii is left when we drive our own families away? It surely won’t be one we recognize.
Shelter and security are cornerstones of well-being. This EP offers a chance to provide that opportunity to thousands of local families. We must make the most of the opportunity, while remaining vigilant in ensuring the EP works as intended.
So it is with tremendous urgency that we encourage Hawaiians and local families to support this effort. The best way you can do that is start researching home ownership. Look into programs like those just launched by American Savings Bank, which only requires 1% from the borrower for a down payment. These programs, and others, are specifically designed to help new local homeowners buy their own homes. It’s on us to make sure we’re using these opportunities.
Now, more than ever, home ownership, a dream long denied to so many here in Hawaii, may finally be within reach.
Carmen Hulu Lindsey chairs the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ board of trustees; Kuhio Lewis is CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement; Jonathan K. Osorio is dean of the Hawaiinuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge; Dreana Kalili is president of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs.
