The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced $21.3 million in Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant (NHHBG) funding to support the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), aiming to address the housing needs of low-income native Hawaiian families, according to an Aug. 8 news release.
"This investment reinforces the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to Native Hawaiian families through accessible housing on Home Lands," HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said in the release. "I am proud to continue building on the administration’s efforts to deliver more equitable outcomes for the people of Hawaii."
This funding will be utilized for various affordable housing activities, including new home construction, rental assistance, housing counseling and property acquisition, benefiting Native Hawaiians living on or off the Hawaiian Home Lands, the release reported.
Housing development, repair and acquisition, infrastructure development and a variety of support services are all possible uses for the funds, according to the release. Additionally, native Hawaiians residing on or away from the Hawaiian Home Lands may receive rental help thanks to the money.
During the past 20 years, DHHL has used more than $150 million in NHHBG funds to build, renovate and purchase more than 750 affordable homes; to improve more than 600 lots with infrastructure development to support the construction of new housing; to renovate community centers to provide housing services to locals; and to offer more than 4,000 families housing-related services, such as financial literacy training, home repair training and rental assistance, the release said.
The grant funds from DHHL will be allocated to a diverse array of affordable housing initiatives, the release reported. These include direct homebuyer assistance in offering personal loans to individuals for the purpose of constructing or buying new homes and resident rent support in providing financial aid to inhabitants of a current elderly rental housing project with 85 units in Waimanalo, Oahu.
Additional initiatives will include developer funding by supplying financial backing to contracted developers for the creation of cost-effective housing units, the release said. The Kupuna Rent Subsidy Program will extend rental aid to low-income kupuna (seniors) aged 62 or older, household heads, who are on the Hawaiian Home Lands waitlist, ensuring housing security.
Housing guidance will help tailor guidance aimed at overcoming housing obstacles and assist families in reaching their housing aspirations, the release reported. Housing transformations will include the refurbishment of an existing structure into 18 temporary housing units, catering to economically disadvantaged Native Hawaiians eligible to reside on the Hawaiian Home Lands.
Property procurement will formulate criteria for site selection, investigating available lands and pre-existing structures to potentially acquire and develop for the establishment of new cost-effective housing units, according to the release. Supplementary dwelling unit financial support will grant funding to existing low-income homeowners on the Hawaiian Home Lands for the construction of supplementary dwelling units on their property, creating economical rental housing options for underprivileged native Hawaiians on the Hawaiian Home Lands.
“The state of Hawaii has the highest median home prices in the nation, and too often our Native Hawaiian communities are among the most negatively affected by the prohibitively high cost of housing," Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Public and Indian Housing Richard Monocchio said in the release. "The NHHBG program enables HUD to get federal funds directly to Native Hawaiian communities for affordable housing and long-term investments that will benefit generations to come.”
