Sammantha Ngaue doesn’t like to talk about the struggles she faced while she was homeless and living in a car with her partner and their son.
It was a difficult period in her life, with deeply personal challenges that she said she is still getting over.
“It was kind of difficult not knowing where to go or what to do … where to park our car or where to sleep,” she said.
Ngaue grew up in Kalihi, where she lived with her mother until about six years ago. She had her first child while living there with her partner Jason Arrowod, but ultimately was forced to move out.
The three of them lived out of their car for about three years, a time in which she gave birth to her two daughters, about two years apart from each other. When Ngaue and her family moved to Waianae, she began to notice the outreach in the community, which opened her eyes to resources that could help her and her family improve their living situation.
The family was eventually able to get out of their car and into an emergency shelter in Waianae, and later move into a transitional home, which provided them with their own two- bedroom living space, bathroom and kitchen. There, Ngaue had her youngest child, a boy who is now 4 months old.
This past October, Ngaue and her family moved under the Section 8 federal housing choice voucher program into a newly renovated single- family home in Waianae that is conveniently close to her 6-year-old’s school.
She has since applied to several jobs in the area, one of which includes a teacher’s aide position at her oldest son’s school.
“Our biggest motivation is our kids, to try and make things better for them,” Ngaue said. “We’re lucky and blessed to get all this.”
As Ngaue and her family settle into their home in Waianae, she hopes to continue working to create a better life for her and her family. She and her partner plan to travel to Texas next year so that Arrowod can obtain his automobile detailing certification and eventually open up their own detailing business together.
Despite what they’ve been through, Ngaue and Arrowod are continuously grateful for the support they’ve received, which Ngaue said has inspired them to pay the aloha spirit forward in their day-to-day lives wherever they can.
For Christmas, Ngaue would like household items to help furnish their new home, such as cookware or living room furniture. Her two daughters enjoy playing with anything related to the Disney character Elsa, while her oldest son likes Hot Wheels and Thomas & Friends toys.
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BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR
The annual Good Neighbor Fund, a charitable partnership between Helping Hands Hawaii, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and First Hawaiian Bank, helps struggling individuals and families during the holiday season.
This year under the Adopt A Family Program, 600 families are seeking assistance with food, clothing, toys and household items. Donations to the Good Neighbor Fund also assist Helping Hands with operational costs for the nonprofit’s Community Clearinghouse Program, which helps people with basic necessities throughout the year, at 2100 N. Nimitz Highway.
The hours for Adopt A Family donations (new items) are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For general donations for the Community Clearinghouse (gently used items), drop-off is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
HOW TO HELP
People can drop off cash or checks to the “Good Neighbor Fund” at any First Hawaiian Bank branch statewide until Dec. 30. To donate specifically to Sammantha Ngaue and her family, include the code: HHH-041.
Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
