LAHAINA >> A special effort to deliver more financial assistance to families with dependent children on Maui who lost property or income due to the Aug. 8 wildfires is being met with exceptional demand.
A Maui nonprofit administering the new $100 million program for the state received about 600 applications since Friday when the program opened, and was overwhelmed during a Tuesday application outreach event at an American Red Cross disaster assistance center in Lahaina.
The offshoot of the federally funded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, being called Maui Relief TANF, can provide qualifying families with up to $4,000 a month for housing plus additional money for automobile, utility, clothing and children’s school supply expenses for up to four months and potentially totaling $20,000 or more.
Maui Economic Opportunity Inc. is administering the program for the state Department of Human Services, and began accepting applications Friday.
On Tuesday, MEO held an outreach event to help people from Lahaina apply close to where many are living in West Maui hotels after the fire destroyed about 3,500 homes.
At the Red Cross disaster assistance center inside Lahaina Civic Center, aid seekers were encouraged to apply from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. However, shortly before noon prospective applicants were being encouraged to instead apply online or return today or Saturday.
MEO also invites people to apply at its Wailuku office at 99 Mahalani St. with no appointment necessary from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday except holidays.
MEO deferred a request for information about Tuesday’s event and the Maui Relief TANF program in general to DHS.
DHS was not able to say how many people visited the MEO event in Lahaina. But the agency said that more than $34,500 had been awarded as of Tuesday night.
The program can make a big difference in the lives of families with children who lost property or income due to the Lahaina fire, which killed at least 99 people, or a second fire also on Aug. 8 in Upcountry Maui.
“The families impacted by the Maui wildfires continue to need our help,” Gov. Josh Green said in an Oct. 13 statement announcing the special program. “The necessities families struggle to pay for on a day-to-day basis can become insurmountable after a disaster.”
Kahanu Opunui, a young father from Lahaina, is among those who could use such help.
The 17-year-old, who four months ago became a father and then was displaced from his home and work by the Lahaina fire, was directed to Tuesday’s MEO event by Federal Emergency Management Agency officials in Kahana on Tuesday after encountering trouble with obtaining FEMA housing assistance to pay for an apartment Opunui had arranged to move into Wednesday with his wife, Kyari Dusenberry.
“If we can’t get this done today, we risk losing our spot at our apartment,” he said. “I think we might just have to figure this one out on our own.”
Opunui was encouraged to apply online after visiting the MEO event, and said he may try to return to the Civic Center this morning.
Moana Gerde, a married mother of two staying in a hotel after losing her Lahaina home in the fire, visited Tuesday’s MEO event to obtain more information about the program, and said she could especially use assistance for a car after the fire destroyed a family vehicle with insurance that lapsed.
“It is a big help,” she said, adding that she intends to apply online.
Under Maui Relief TANF, a qualifying household must include at least one dependent under 24 years old and may not have income that equates to more than 350% of the federal poverty level.
The annual income limit equates to $79,380 for a single parent with a child and $120,750 for a family of four.
These limits are higher than the traditional TANF program, which is run by the state and aims to serve low-income households with at least one dependent child no older than 18.
In addition to the housing payment assistance up to $4,000 a month for up to four months, Maui Relief TANF can provide:
>> Up to a $5,000 down payment on a reliable automobile and a monthly payment of up to $500 for four months.
>> A one-time utility deposit up to $2,000 and combined utility payments for up to four months not to exceed $750.
>> A clothing allowance up to $350 per dependent child under age 18 and $500 per dependent child 18 and older and each eligible adult in the family unit.
>> A school supply allowance of $300 for each eligible school-age child.
Program benefits get issued as a lump-sum payment to a qualified family or as a direct payment to a vendor such as a landlord, automobile dealership or a utility company.
The Maui Relief TANF payments can be in addition to FEMA individual assistance if a family has exhausted FEMA assistance and critical needs still exists.
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For information
Maui Relief TANF program information is available at:
>> meoinc.org online
>> 808-243-4316 by phone
>> NRST@meoinc.org via email
