January 30, 2026

In 2023 a massive fire destroyed the historic whaling town of Lahaina.  The fire killed 102 people destroyed more than 2000 buildings and left 5000 people homeless, giving Lahaina the distinction of having the largest homeless population, in proportion to the general population, in the United States.

Temporary rental assistance for fire survivors ends on February 29th of this year  An extension has not passed Congress.  The 18 month time limit for assistance was set based on the ability to rebuild Lahaina but staff at HUD tasked with the rebuilding was cut but the deadline remains the same. This circumstance places Lahaina in a very tenuous situation.

I was pleased to learn that it has been the faith community that has initiated programs to assist the residents of Lahaina. One such project is Ohana Hope Village. Ohana is a Hawaiian word for extended family. The village sits on land owned by Kings Cathedral, a large Pentecostal church that has privately funded the project.

Many of the Ohana shelters were built by Continnest, a Hungarian company that supplies temporary shelters for refugee communities, housing for relief workers, and administrative modules for aid agencies.  They’ve also built modular schools.  They are designed for off grid use, so they have solar panels to provide electricity. 

To meet the needs of extended Hawaiian families the village clusters the housing modules in groups of 4 to six units (each with its own toilet, shower, and kitchenette) and adds an extra unit for a large family community kitchen and meeting place.  As fire victims return to Lahaina the buildings will be repurposed to deal with the chronic homeless problem.

Another temporary housing project, Ka La’I Ola, “Place of Restful “Recovery,” is operated by an organization called Homeaid, an agency established to house the homeless.  It built 450 temporary shelters for 1500 people.  Labor Unions contributed much of the labor.  This project is designed to house people through 2029.  With nowhere to go, most families will continue to live in the project.

Overall, around half of those displaced by the fire still live in temporary housing.  And while these two projects are important to the recovery, federal cuts to FEMA can no longer support the housing needs after this disaster.

Take a moment and pray for the people of Lahaina.

Thanks for traveling with us.