Home ownership has become an impossible dream for most Hawaii residents who live by modest means. An increasing number of families live on the brink of homelessness, and 121,756 people in Hawaii lived at or below the poverty line in 2005 - an increase, the Census Bureau tells us, of 6.3 percent over 2004.
The volunteers and staffers at Hawai'i Habitat for Humanity, however, have drawn a line and said enough is enough. On the front lines fighting for affordable housing in Hawaii since 1976, they continue to seek community donors and volunteers to come to the aid of residents who can use the help and are willing to partcipate in building a decent, affordable new home for themselves.
"Take a drive along the Waianae coast and you can see the problem (substandard housing and homelessness) is daunting," noted Susan Hughes, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Leeward O'ahu. "The last house we built on Oahu was for two couples and 10 children. It has seven bedrooms and two baths."
Eddyne Kaheaku, Kealoha Arelliano, development director; Susan Hughes, executive director; Kehau Hanohano, chair Board of Directors and neighbor Ali'i Solomon
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Homeowner Daniel Kaheaku (left) and Pastor George Ka'ahanui and Danny Kaheaku Jr. (right)
Photos by Hal Lum
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Still, with limited resources and volunteers, the Leeward Habitat was able to erect only four houses last year on Oahu, little more than a blip on the radar in terms of providing adequate, affordable housing for the growing number of Island residents who so desperately need it.
"We were able to build four homes in 2007," Susan Hughes said. "This year, we're planning a 31-home subdivision in Maili. That's a huge jump for us because we're a staff of two (on Oahu). We need more people, more money and more land."
The seven Hawaii Habitat affiliates statewide have moved 220 low-income families out of unsafe, crowded or decrepit housing conditions and have built 220 homes with them. Habitat provides zero-interest loans for its self-help homes, and the homeowners' low monthly mortgage payments revert to a revolving loan fund used to build more Habitat houses.
Building homes "with them," by the way, means just that. The Habitat is not a giveaway program, but rather a joint venture in which those who benefit from the housing ministry are involved in the work at various levels. Each homeowner family is required to invest 500 "sweat equity" hours - 250 on their home and 250 on other Habitat homes. This, the organization asserts, reduces the cost of the house, increases the pride of ownership among family members and generates stronger relationships in the community.
The next such home on Oahu will be built deep in Waianae Valley for Denise Kaheaku-Dung, her dad and three young children - Kalana (4), Kyston (5) and Kyla (9). The family of five currently resides in a tiny two-bedroom duplex in Maili, but now they live there with new dreams and elevated hopes.
"I was so excited," Kaheaku-Dung says of her reaction to being accepted by the Habitat for home ownership. "It was unreal. I couldn't believe it was actually happening. I waited for two-and-a-half years, and it was actually happening!"
The Kaheaku family celebrated on Jan. 26 with a ground blessing at the site of their future home, high up in Waianae Valley near the mountains. That Sunday they had plenty of company in the form of volunteers and construction professionals, most of whom had shown up with tools in hand ready work.
Four of the volunteers were from the musical group Kaukahi, who'd arrived with their friends to help and discovered, as had everyone else, that the initial ground breaking could not commence pending permit review by the City & County of Honolulu. Band members Kawika Kahiapo and Walt Keale led a ground blessing instead and vowed to return when the actual labor starts.
Evelyn Ka'ahanui, Pat Patterson and Nune Fernandez.
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Dave Luehring, neighbor; Art Hanson, architect; and Rike Weiss, housing campaign coordinator.
Photos by Hal Lum
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"It's all about patience now," Kaheaku-Dung says with a slight sigh of exasperation. "It's hard because we're all so excited about moving into our new home. My oldest daughter knows what's going on and keeps asking, 'When are we going to move, when are we going to move?'"
The Habitat refers to applicants who have been selected for its program as partner families, each of whom have emerged from an intensive screening process. The new homeowners are selected based on their level of need, their willingness to become partners in the program and their ability to repay the loan. Every Habitat affiliate follows a nondiscriminatory policy of family selection that dictates that neither race nor religion can be factors in choosing the families who receive Habitat houses.
Volunteers help Habitat clients on weekends to build their homes. They may be groups of corporate employees or individuals, church groups or high school and college students. Occasionally, groups of volunteers come from the Mainland for a week or two to assist in a build. A construction team provides training and supervision on all building sites.
As for "sweat equity," the organization's term for labor, Kaheaku-Dung is not waiting to get started. Since late Februrary, she has been volunteering to work on other Habititat homes to fulfill her 500-hour obligation. Also, if her brothers or cousins volunteer along with her, or at other times on her behalf, those hours count toward fulfilling her agreement, as well.
"I have my brothers, my cousins, my friends - we've been volunteering to work on other houses already," Kaheaku-Dung says. "The experience is good ... I mean, who knows how to build a house?"
Actually, her brothers do, and their friends also are in construction, which makes Kaheaku-Dung feel her new four-bedroom, two-bath home will be built faster than the Habitat's prediction of six months to a year.
"We're ready to get started," Kaheaku-Dung points out excitedly. "To see the land from ground zero become a house right in front of your eyes is just wonderful.
"We've got two acres so we're going to plant ti leaves and some bananas. My dad will be handling that. We're also going to get a dog. Wow ... this really changes things." HS
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Habitat yields homes to Hawaii families
Habitat for Humanity - Kauai
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Habitat for Humanity - Maui
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Habitat for Humanity has provided affordable housing for nearly 220 low-income families around Hawaii, and more are on the way.
"We want to eliminate substandard housing and homelessness," says Kathy Hasegawa, executive director of Hawai'i Habitat for Humanity. "Each affiliate is committed to that mission, and we provide one of the few solutions to the severe housing problems in Hawaii."
The state's first Habitat affiliates were incorporated in Honolulu and Hilo nearly two decades ago. The number of affiliates has expanded to seven, with two affiliates each in Oahu and the Big Island, and one each in Kauai, Maui and Molokai.
The affiliates are at different stages in providing services for their respective communities. Kauai and Maui, for example, are two of the more productive members, while Molokai and Leeward Oahu continue to strive to establish themselves.
The Kauai affiliate, which in 1992 was the third in the state to be incorporated, has built 89 homes, and six more are under construction. It was founded after Habitat International saw the destruction caused by Hurricane Iniki in 1992 and pledged millions of dollars to found the Kauai affiliate.
The money and the guidance of the late Lafrance Kapaka, the affiliate's first executive director, were keys to success.
"Lafrance was a big visionary," says current executive director Stephen Spears. "She was well-connected and she really pushed the projects. She was able to secure grants to buy land. By 2000, we had completed 66 homes over seven years."
The affiliate has forged partnerships with Kauai businesses such as Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Kauai Lumber and Falko Partners over the years. The businesses donate everything from cash to lumber, and provide volunteers.
The Maui affiliate is also well established. Incorporated in 1997, it has built 16 homes with 15 more under construction. Work on a 40-unit condominium, its biggest project to date, is expected to begin later this year.
"We have a lot of mega mansions here, and land is always a huge issue," says executive director Sherri Dodson. "Even when we have the capacity to build, there is no land to buy. That's why we decided to build up in order to produce more units faster."
Like the Kauai affiliate, Maui has received generous contributions from local businesses, as well as government subsidies for its projects.
"Our first 10 homes were built on Hawaiian Homeland," Dodson says. "That gave us experience, and people recognized our work."
Habitat for Humanity - West Hawaii
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Dodson and her staff serve as informal mentors to the West Hawaii affiliate, which was incorporated in 2002 and is the second newest affiliate after Leeward Oahu (2005). It completed its first home in 2006, and followed up with three more last year.
"The biggest challenges are fund-raising and getting the word out about what we're doing," says executive director Vickie Bauman. "People don't know what we do. Some think we're an environmental group. The older generation may say, 'Oh, yeah, Jimmy Carter,' but the younger people barely even know who Jimmy Carter is."
While raising funds for their homes, West Hawaii has taken on smaller projects, such as helping seniors restore their homes. It has also started a "ReStore," which takes donations of gently used home furnishings, building materials and home-related products and resells them at discount prices. Proceeds go to building projects.
Habitat for Humanity - Honolulu (left) and Molokai (right)
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The Molokai affiliate has its own challenges. Funding and volunteers can sometimes be lacking in an island with a population of 7,000.
The island also has no big-store chains and must have supplies shipped from Washington state. Even small items flown in from Oahu can be expensive.
Molokai has just one licensed electrician, and often plumbers and contractors have to come in from Honolulu, according to executive director Jean Han. Still, 11 homes have been completed in the island since it was incorporated in 1998.
"I'm happy about that," Han says. "Of course, we'd like to do more."
Despite all the roadblocks, each affiliate struggles forward to the day that construction is completed and the family moves in to its new home.
"We're breaking a cycle of poverty that had gone on for generations," says Dodson. "We know (the new homeowners') children will inherit that house and raise their children there. We're about to complete 30 homes. Some people might not think that's a lot, but it's not just the families moving in who are being affected but also later generations. That's huge."
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Kaukahi lends a hand and a heart
Kaukahi performs at the groundbreaking: (From left) Walt Keale, Dean Wilhelm, Kawika Kahiapo and Barrett Awai.
Photo by Hal Lum
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The members of musical group Kaukahi were eager to swing hammers, turn some screws and saw some wood.
The four musicians and friends traveled to Waianae to volunteer their services at Habitat for Humanity Leeward Oahu's latest project. Problem was, there was no physical work to be done on the January day they set aside to build.
So instead guitarist/vocalist Kawika Kahiapo and ukeleleist/vocalist Walt Keale, who are both pastors, led a blessing of the site of the future home for the Dung family.
"We expected to get in our scrubs and do something that day," Kahiapo says. "But we did the blessing, shared a couple of songs, got to know the family."
It just goes to show, there's always work to be done for Habitat. And generous volunteers like Kahiapo, which also includes bassist/vocalist Barrett Awai and guitarist/vocalist Dean Wilhelm, are key to the nonprofit's Hawaii affiliates' goal of providing Island families much-needed affordable housing.
"The amount of support we get from the community has been incredible," says Sherri Dodson, executive director of the Maui affiliate. "It's like a snowball effect. We get lots of construction companies, retired skilled laborers, schools, rotaries. The Realtors Association has already built three homes. It's a real diverse group of volunteers."
Local folk are not the only ones giving their time. The state's seven Habitats also are associated with Habitat's international affiliates, which means volunteers fly in from other countries as well as the Mainland.
"Coming to Hawaii is a big draw," says Stephen Spears, the Kauai affiliate's executive director.
Kaukahi's involvement stemmed from their friendship with Rike Weiss, housing coordinator for the Hawai'i Habitat for Humanity Association, the state support organization for the state's seven affiliates.
Weiss frequently attends the band's weekly shows at Blue Water Grill in Hawaii Kai. She informed them of the need for help on the Leeward side.
The band members felt it was a perfect fit since part of their goals as musicians is to provide community service and serve as "ambassadors of aloha." (Kaukahi, which released its debut "Life in These Islands" in 2006, took its name from the Hawaiian word for "singleness of purpose.")
"It was very positive," Kahiapo says. "Everyone said, 'Let's do it.'"
It was also a perfect fit because all four members are handy with tools. Kahiapo worked as a general contractor until deciding more than a decade ago to concentrate on music and his ministry.
"Dean's also worked construction, Barrett works on his house in Hawaii Kai and Walt's a physical, elbow-grease kind of guy," Kahiapo says.
But volunteers need not be expert builders. John Ayat, for example, had little experience when he first volunteered with Habitat Leeward.
The affiliate threw everything his way - framing, roofing, inside work. Three years and four houses later, Ayat has been granted the title of construction chair, although he still serves on a volunteer basis.
"It just means more hours," he jokes.
Like many volunteers, Ayat, 60, is a retiree who wants to keep busy while continuing to contribute to the community. He retired in late 2005 a sergeant with the Honolulu Police Department. He had patrolled District 8, which includes Waianae, for 14 of his 30 years on the force, which makes him as knowledgeable as anyone on the area and its residents.
"Because I worked there as a police officer, I probably saw more good than bad," he says. "It's nice to see something good happening there."
College and high school students make up another large segment of volunteers. Bryce Toyama, 23, is a recent graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa's College of Engineering. He began working with the Leeward affiliate in October as a member of Engineers Without Borders. Despite landing a full-time job since then, Toyama continues to spend just about every Saturday volunteering. He makes sure to bring along former classmates to the work site.
"In school everything is theoretical, but (with Habitat) we see everything that we've learned being put into practice," Toyama says.
Kaukahi also hopes to move from the realm of theory to reality. Kahiapo and his band mates have pledged to return to Waianae to help the Kaheaku-Dung family build and complete its dream of homeownership.
"We're committed to go out there and do some work," Kahiapo says.
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