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In Hawai`i, wealth inequality and poverty is an issue that continues to affect the health, safety, and wellbeing of our community. With housing prices soaring through the roof and wealth gaps increasing at exponential rates, many locals are being priced out and forced to move away towards the Continental United States in search of better opportunities. Wealth inequality continues to be an unstoppable force that has negative effects on affordability while also causing unwarranted suffering and neglect towards innocent people for profits. Rather than having an innovative economy that expands into varying sectors, we continue to be extremely reliant on the tourism industry to fund our governmental functions - with sustainable job opportunities outside the tourism industry, government, and military being very limited.

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For the purpose of this project, I chose to interview my former high school teacher on his take on the issue of poverty and wealth inequality. He would like his identity to remain anonymous so for now, let’s call him Joe.

Joe grew up in Aiea and spent his last five years in Hawaii as a public high school teacher before moving to Arizona in the summer of 2020 to pursue a Masters in Business Administration. Nearing the end of his program, Joe now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and works in human resources. Though Joe might have moved to the mainland because of school, he, like many other Hawaii residents, was pushed out because he could no longer afford where he lived. Joe was at risk for eviction so all his bets were placed on getting into a school on the continent.

I began my interview by asking Joe if his teaching salary was enough for him to live a comfortable life here in Hawaii, to which he said no. Even after earning a Masters in Education and a raised wage, Joe felt like there was no change in the quality of his life at all. He was still living paycheck to paycheck. The lack of sustainable income brought in by his teaching career was also why he decided to shift to the world of business.

Although what Joe makes now as a human resource consultant is not far off from what he made as a public school teacher, he has noticed a significant improvement in the quality of his life now that he lives in Las Vegas. Nevada's lower cost of living also gave Joe more freedom to spend his income on other necessities besides rent.

Joe disagrees with the popular narrative that paints those living below the poverty line as lazy. He believes that this ignorant view and its harmful stereotypes often cause people to question their self-worth, preventing them from escaping vicious cycles of poverty. Joe also goes against the argument that people in poverty should just work harder by adding that hard work does not always guarantee wealth or success.

“Those living in poverty are not a monolith. Although they may share similar experiences, it does not mean they were all dealt with the same cards.”

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Kalama Valley Development and Unlawful Evictions of Native Hawaiians

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Haunani Trask, Hawaiian Activist's Take on Development

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Haunani Trask, Hawaiian Activist's Take on Development

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A person I have enjoyed listening too would be Hawaiian activist, Haunani-Kay Trask. I tend to side with a majority of her takes and also enjoy listening to her speak. In relation to the reading where she covered the Kalama Valley land evictions, I found this to be extremely interesting given that I live in the area and never really knew why Hawai`i Kai is so over-developed and expensive. Let alone why Kaiser High School was named after Henry J. Kaiser. And not to my surprise, it was a made possible as a result of evicting Native Hawaiians out of the valleys from Kāhala to Kalama valley all across East Honolulu. She characterized urban development as a “disease” with every eviction struggle, every beach preservation effort, and every fight to oppose the building of resorts as a battle against this disease. These battles, we continue to see in the form of the Aloha ʻĀina movements we see whether it’s on Mauna Kea or Sherwoods Forest. Hawai`i’s tourism society replaced a plantation society. Development exploded and rich immigrants forced the landless into the project housing located in Kalihi and Pālolo where drugs and crime followed many of the youth. Tourism, militarism, and the entire cultural presence of America would be considered the “disease” that continues to run rampant till this day.

"The characterization of urban development as a "disease" was to be heard throughout the coming decade. Every eviction struggle, every beach preservation effort, every fight to stop a resort would be described in terms of a battle against the "disease" of development. The metaphor conjured up an image of a "sick" society where growing numbers of the poor were cast aside for the needs of profit-hungry landowners. "Progress" became a process of eviction for low-income workers and their families, many of whom were Hawaiian. As a tourism society replaced a plantation society, urban sprawl and "new" immigrants with money forced the landless into fast-appearing slums. "Project" housing went up in the beautiful valleys of Kalihi and Palolo, transforming them into ramshackle ghettos where drugs and crime stalked increasing numbers of unemployed youth. In the later years of the movement, "disease" would be used to describe tourism, militarism, and, finally, the entire cultural presence of America."

Source: http://hdl.handle.net/10524/144

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In 1985, a group of houseless native Hawaiians took a stand for their right to live at Waimanalo Beach Park, an area set aside as Hawaiian Home Lands. As a result, they were violently detained while families and children cry and plea with the police citing that they have nowhere else to go.

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A 2020 housing demand study of Maui county shows that the percentage of houses built from 2016-2020 for above-market housing was more than its demand, while below-market housing had a significantly higher demand compared to the percentage of houses being built.

Although more homes are being built, the needs of low-income residents are still not being met. The majority of those that need housing mainly fall below the 140% area median income group.

In order to solve the housing crisis, housing needs to be treated as a basic necessity, not as a commodity.

Source: https://www.hibudget.org/blog/solving-housing-crisis-hawaii-build-smart-not-just-more

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An analysis of Maui's housing stock demonstrates that, although Hawaiʻi is building more housing, we're not building it at the prices that meet demand from local residents.

The Maui County Council recently commissioned a comprehensive five-year housing plan, which will be presented to the council members on Monday, July 19. One of the most important parts of the plan is assessing the gap between the type of housing that is being built versus the type that is actually needed to address the county's affordable housing needs, and then proposing solutions to bridge that gap.

As part of the team that helped draft the housing plan, the Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center (HBPC) looked at what housing has been built in Maui over the past five years (2016-2020) and compared that to the kind of housing the most recent Hawaiʻi Housing Planning Study (2019) said would be needed over five years starting in 2020. Comparing supply to local demand should help guide future housing production.

Housing comes at different monthly rent and mortgage costs, so it's important to not just keep track of how much housing was built, but at what price it was sold or rented. In other words, for whom was it affordable?

One of the most common measures of affordability lies in comparing housing costs to the level of household income needed to afford the home. For example, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines an affordable rent as 30 percent or less of a household's income. A $2,000 apartment is therefore considered affordable to a household with at least $6,600 in total monthly income, or $79,200 a year.

However, just knowing that a house is affordable to a household earning roughly $80,000 a year still leaves out critical information. For example, if the household income is split between two adults earning $40,000, does that represent a higher or lower than average annual wage for the region? In Hawaiʻi County, $40,000 a year represents a higher than average wage, but on Oʻahu it's a bit lower.

To compare housing affordability across years and locations, HUD uses the area median income (AMI) as a benchmark. It then measures affordability along a spectrum with 100 percent AMI being the median income. Last year on Maui, the household median income according to HUD was $97,500. So a couple earning $80,000 would be considered to be earning 82 percent of the area median income. A $2,000 per month apartment on Maui is therefore affordable at 80 percent AMI (using HUD's 30 percent rule). By contrast, in Sandpoint, Idaho, where the median income is $61,500, a $2,000 per month apartment is only affordable to households earning 130 percent AMI.

Figure 1: To assess the affordability of housing being built in Maui, HBPC analyzed more than 3,300 homes either built or under construction between 2016 and 2020 and organized them by commonly used AMI categories. Then we compared the list to the demand, as reported in the 2019 Hawaiʻi Housing Planning Study.

Key Takeaways

The category of housing with the highest demand and the highest supply on Maui are homes that are affordable only at 140 percent AMI and above. This is generally considered "market rate" housing, or homes that are sold on the open market for the highest possible price. On Maui, this represents households earning at least $136,500 a year. Since the median wage on Maui is $44,117 per year, this means that most homes being built are not affordable to local residents. And yet, the demand for these homes exists, which reflects the fact that many are sold as second homes or investment properties.

In 2020, only 20 percent of the housing needs for local residents earning below 140 percent AMI was met. Housing built to be affordable at less than 140 percent AMI is not market rate; instead this kind of housing has restrictions on its price designed to make the housing more affordable to more people. Generally this requires some form of subsidy-either from government funding or from private developers-that provides below-market rate homes to meet affordable housing requirements.

The category of 30-60 percent AMI has more supply than other non-market rate categories due to the LIHTC program. This is the price range for government-subsidized rental housing through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. This program combines federal and state tax credits with state rental housing funds to create price controlled rental housing that must stay affordable for 60 years. All of the new affordable rental housing built in Hawaiʻi is funded through this program. Eligible households on Maui would have incomes of between $40,950 and $81,900 per year.

There is almost no housing being built in the 60-80 percent AMI price range.That's because the pricing is above what that current Hawaiʻi LIHTC program will fund, but below what private market developers are required to provide. The household income range for this "missing middle" category is $81,900 to $109,200.

There is also a severe shortage of housing in the 0-30 percent AMI range. The housing demand study estimated that 1,700 homes are needed for households earning less than $40,950, while only 135 homes that fit this category were built over the past five years. That satisfied less than 4 percent of the demand. Unfortunately, this is predictable because housing at this price range requires the greatest amount of public subsidy. The homes that are being developed for this category are also a result of the LIHTC program, which requires that 5 percent of homes be built at this price range.

Another way to assess housing supply versus housing demand is to look at the percentage of homes being built at different AMI levels compared to the percentage that is needed. Imagine a factory that builds 1,000 1-bedroom homes and 1,000 2-bedroom homes, but the demand is for 2,000 1-bedroom homes and 4,000 2-bedroom homes. The factory not only needs to produce more homes, but it also needs to change the proportion of each type built to meet the demand.

Figure 2. By looking at percentage built versus percentage needed we can see whether we are building homes in the right proportions. As this figure shows, we are clearly not.

Looking at the proportion of housing built that is built at market rate (140 percent AMI and higher) versus below-market shows two things:

Maui is building twice as much market priced housing (66 percent) as affordable housing (34 percent), even though there is a higher demand for below-market housing (54 percent of demand).

Adding more supply in the current model will continue to produce housing in the wrong proportions and fail to meet housing needs.

This means that, even as we build more homes, we are not satisfying local resident needs.

If our goal is to actually meet the need, we cannot simply build more housing in the same proportions as we do now. We need policy solutions that change whatʻs coming through the housing pipeline in addition to increasing supply.

From analyses of effective housing policy in cities and countries across the globe, it's clear that the solution will require more government subsidy and intervention, not less. Solving the housing crisis will also require that we, as a community, start treating housing as, first and foremost, a basic necessity-a place to live-and not primarily as a means for investment and wealth-building.

Kenna StormoGipson is the Director of Housing Policy at the Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center. Her interest lies in how Hawaiʻi can best pay for public goods in an equitable and efficient way.

Kenna completed a Master's degree in Public Affairs from the University of California Berkeley. She wrote her thesis on how to support affordable housing in Hawaiʻi through public infrastructure financing. Since graduating, she has worked at the Public Policy Center at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa on Transit Oriented Development, and as a bills researcher for the Hawaiʻi State Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

An analysis of Maui's housing stock demonstrates that, although Hawaiʻi is building more housing, we're not building it at the prices that meet demand from local residents.

The Maui County Council recently commissioned a comprehensive five-year housing plan, which will be presented to the council members on Monday, July 19. One of the most important parts of the plan is assessing the gap between the type of housing that is being built versus the type that is actually needed to address the county's affordable housing needs, and then proposing solutions to bridge that gap.

As part of the team that helped draft the housing plan, the Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center (HBPC) looked at what housing has been built in Maui over the past five years (2016-2020) and compared that to the kind of housing the most recent Hawaiʻi Housing Planning Study (2019) said would be needed over five years starting in 2020. Comparing supply to local demand should help guide future housing production.

Housing comes at different monthly rent and mortgage costs, so it's important to not just keep track of how much housing was built, but at what price it was sold or rented. In other words, for whom was it affordable?

One of the most common measures of affordability lies in comparing housing costs to the level of household income needed to afford the home. For example, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines an affordable rent as 30 percent or less of a household's income. A $2,000 apartment is therefore considered affordable to a household with at least $6,600 in total monthly income, or $79,200 a year.

However, just knowing that a house is affordable to a household earning roughly $80,000 a year still leaves out critical information. For example, if the household income is split between two adults earning $40,000, does that represent a higher or lower than average annual wage for the region? In Hawaiʻi County, $40,000 a year represents a higher than average wage, but on Oʻahu it's a bit lower.

To compare housing affordability across years and locations, HUD uses the area median income (AMI) as a benchmark. It then measures affordability along a spectrum with 100 percent AMI being the median income. Last year on Maui, the household median income according to HUD was $97,500. So a couple earning $80,000 would be considered to be earning 82 percent of the area median income. A $2,000 per month apartment on Maui is therefore affordable at 80 percent AMI (using HUD's 30 percent rule). By contrast, in Sandpoint, Idaho, where the median income is $61,500, a $2,000 per month apartment is only affordable to households earning 130 percent AMI.

Figure 1: To assess the affordability of housing being built in Maui, HBPC analyzed more than 3,300 homes either built or under construction between 2016 and 2020 and organized them by commonly used AMI categories. Then we compared the list to the demand, as reported in the 2019 Hawaiʻi Housing Planning Study.

Key Takeaways

The category of housing with the highest demand and the highest supply on Maui are homes that are affordable only at 140 percent AMI and above. This is generally considered "market rate" housing, or homes that are sold on the open market for the highest possible price. On Maui, this represents households earning at least $136,500 a year. Since the median wage on Maui is $44,117 per year, this means that most homes being built are not affordable to local residents. And yet, the demand for these homes exists, which reflects the fact that many are sold as second homes or investment properties.

In 2020, only 20 percent of the housing needs for local residents earning below 140 percent AMI was met. Housing built to be affordable at less than 140 percent AMI is not market rate; instead this kind of housing has restrictions on its price designed to make the housing more affordable to more people. Generally this requires some form of subsidy-either from government funding or from private developers-that provides below-market rate homes to meet affordable housing requirements.

The category of 30-60 percent AMI has more supply than other non-market rate categories due to the LIHTC program. This is the price range for government-subsidized rental housing through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. This program combines federal and state tax credits with state rental housing funds to create price controlled rental housing that must stay affordable for 60 years. All of the new affordable rental housing built in Hawaiʻi is funded through this program. Eligible households on Maui would have incomes of between $40,950 and $81,900 per year.

There is almost no housing being built in the 60-80 percent AMI price range.That's because the pricing is above what that current Hawaiʻi LIHTC program will fund, but below what private market developers are required to provide. The household income range for this "missing middle" category is $81,900 to $109,200.

There is also a severe shortage of housing in the 0-30 percent AMI range. The housing demand study estimated that 1,700 homes are needed for households earning less than $40,950, while only 135 homes that fit this category were built over the past five years. That satisfied less than 4 percent of the demand. Unfortunately, this is predictable because housing at this price range requires the greatest amount of public subsidy. The homes that are being developed for this category are also a result of the LIHTC program, which requires that 5 percent of homes be built at this price range.

Another way to assess housing supply versus housing demand is to look at the percentage of homes being built at different AMI levels compared to the percentage that is needed. Imagine a factory that builds 1,000 1-bedroom homes and 1,000 2-bedroom homes, but the demand is for 2,000 1-bedroom homes and 4,000 2-bedroom homes. The factory not only needs to produce more homes, but it also needs to change the proportion of each type built to meet the demand.

Figure 2. By looking at percentage built versus percentage needed we can see whether we are building homes in the right proportions. As this figure shows, we are clearly not.

Looking at the proportion of housing built that is built at market rate (140 percent AMI and higher) versus below-market shows two things:

Maui is building twice as much market priced housing (66 percent) as affordable housing (34 percent), even though there is a higher demand for below-market housing (54 percent of demand).

Adding more supply in the current model will continue to produce housing in the wrong proportions and fail to meet housing needs.

This means that, even as we build more homes, we are not satisfying local resident needs.

If our goal is to actually meet the need, we cannot simply build more housing in the same proportions as we do now. We need policy solutions that change whatʻs coming through the housing pipeline in addition to increasing supply.

From analyses of effective housing policy in cities and countries across the globe, it's clear that the solution will require more government subsidy and intervention, not less. Solving the housing crisis will also require that we, as a community, start treating housing as, first and foremost, a basic necessity-a place to live-and not primarily as a means for investment and wealth-building.

Kenna StormoGipson is the Director of Housing Policy at the Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center. Her interest lies in how Hawaiʻi can best pay for public goods in an equitable and efficient way.

Kenna completed a Master's degree in Public Affairs from the University of California Berkeley. She wrote her thesis on how to support affordable housing in Hawaiʻi through public infrastructure financing. Since graduating, she has worked at the Public Policy Center at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa on Transit Oriented Development, and as a bills researcher for the Hawaiʻi State Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

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Solving Hawaii's housing crisis means building smart, not just more - HBPC

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An analysis of Maui's housing stock demonstrates that, although Hawaiʻi is building more housing, we're not building it at the prices that meet demand from local residents. The Maui County Council recently commissioned a comprehensive five-year housing plan, which will be presented to the council members on Monday, July 19.

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Living in Hawai`i vs. Living on the Mainland

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Living in Hawai`i vs. Living on the Mainland

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In the article, this comes from the perspective of Lila Yamaguchi's experience on deciding to move from Pupukea to Tennessee in 2007. Their in-laws asked them about moving and they quickly packed up their belongings due to the high cost of living in Hawai`i while also having the desire to provide their children with better opportunities.

In Tennessee, they live in a four-bedroom, 2,200 square-foot house and still have enough money to travel and spend time with their kids. She pays $55 for car registration, 98 cents for a dozen of eggs, $175 in property taxes and less that $3 for milk - items that could cost double and triple more in Hawai`i.

Source: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/09/05/hawaii-news/more-native-hawaiians-and-pacific-islanders-are-living-on-the-mainland-and-finding-ways-to-keep-their-culture-alive/

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From 2010 to 2020, the percentage growth of the NHPI population on the mainland was nearly double that seen in Hawaii, according to newly released census data. The NHPI population on the mainland grew by 31.6% over the 10-year span, an increase of 127,930 people. Read more

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More Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are living on the mainland and finding ways to keep their culture alive

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For 15 years, Jocelyn Lii has called Las Vegas home. But the 35-year-old will never forget how difficult it was to leave her family and home in Waialua to move to the mainland for the lower cost of living and more opportunities.

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In this image, you can see how poverty tends to lower life expectancies in certain communities. East Honolulu (Aina Haina/Hawaii Kai/Kahala) is known for having some of the most expensive houses in the entire state while also having the highest life expectancy in the state at 87.3 years.

Whereas, West Oahu (Waianae/Makaha/Nakakuli) has some of the lowest life expectancies in the entire state at 74.9 years which is 12.4 years lower than E. Honolulu.

And just over the mountain in Waimanalo, the life expectancy is only at 76 years which is 11.3 years lower than E. Honolulu.

What West Oahu and Waimanalo do have in common is a higher Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander population. These communities also have higher poverty rates.

Source: Civil Beat - Experts: It's Time To Learn To Live With Covid https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/10/experts-its-time-to-learn-to-live-with-covid/

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I decided to interview Kumu Jonathan Kuahiwi Moniz who was my Hawaiian Studies 100 & 107 at KCC. I took his 107 level class first to fulfill my degree requirements and his class really brought a new perspective for Hawaiian culture. Before, I used to justify the illegal annexation of Hawaii and thought that if it never happened, we would not be in the place we are in today. But given that Hawaii has one of the highest homelessness rates in the country with many locals struggling to make ends meet, do you really think we are better off today?
Kumu brought a Native Hawaiian perspective in regards to land ownership and the displacement of Native Hawaiians in their own country. He told me that Native Hawaiians in Waianae are born into poverty.  He also told me off camera that they were born into poverty but they weren't aware they lived in poverty. They assumed that everyone lived like that.
He also made a pretty interesting note that Native Hawaiian entities such as the Bishop Estate play very large roles in the development of land. They're in the same playing field like Sanford B. Dole.
When I asked if he ever thought about moving away, he did contemplate moving away due to the high cost of living. However, his teaching credentials would no longer be valid in the mainland if he did so which he would have to do additional schooling. He noted that it may be easier for people who have easily transferrable jobs such as being a cook. But for him, it is not as easy to do so given his investment in Hawaiian Studies.
I also mentioned how many families in Hawaii usually live paycheck to paycheck. From the perspective of Native Hawaiian families, both the husband and wife need to combine their wealth in order to sustain their lives. They would also need their children in the house in order to pitch in on other bills and buying food. He also said that the rail would not be beneficial for Native Hawaiian families since they tend to be multitasking.
When it came to me asking about possible suggestions for alleviating the housing crisis, he noted that we need to start to invest in the infrastructure for the Hawaiian Homelands. Many of the lands being allotted to Hawaiians often lack infrastructure and tends to be a major setback since the government does not want to fund that since this tends to be very expensive.

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Interviewing Kumu Jonathan Kuahiwi Moniz

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Hawaii has one of the lowest levels of top 1-percent income shares in the country. In 2012, Hawaii ranked third lowest for income inequality, with it's top 1-percent claiming 13.36-percent of the total income for all Hawaii residents.

Source: https://www.hawaiibusiness.com/hawaiis-growing-inequality-2/

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Wealth gaps on the Island of Oahu on Opportunity Atlas

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This image can provide a very significant image of wealth gaps throughout many communities throughout Oahu.

Waianae has average incomes (at the age of 35) $35K to $40K.
Waimanalo has average incomes (at the age of 35) is at $37K.

East Honolulu has average incomes (at the age of 35) that range from $56K to $70K. Some of the highest in the entire State!

Source: https://www.opportunityatlas.org/

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In 2019, a single person earning less than $67,500 a year qualifies as low income in urban Honolulu.

Source: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/05/28/hawaii-news/newswatch/low-income-threshold-rises-to-67500-in-honolulu/

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Are you single, and earning less than $67,500 a year?

Based on the latest income limits set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, you qualify as a "low-income" individual in the urban Honolulu area. The income limits are used to determine eligibility for assisted housing programs, including Section 8 vouchers, and setting fair market rents.

HUD sets the low-income limits at 80% of the median for the county or metropolitan area.

For a two-person household in urban Honolulu, the low-income limit is set at $77,150, and for a family of four, it is set at $96,400.

HUD released the figures in late April, noting that the national median income is now at $75,000, an increase of 5% over the national median income in fiscal year 2018.

That's the price of living in paradise, according to real estate analyst Stephany Sofos.

"Do I think $67,500 is poverty? I think that's crazy," said Sofos. "Can you imagine how far you could go [with that salary] in Phoenix, Ariz., or Boise, Idaho? It's expensive to live on an island. We all live here because our families are here, we like the ambiance, we like the beach. You have to pay to be on an island that is desirable. You have to pay a premium for that, whether or not you want to."

The income limit of $67,500 for a single person in Honolulu this year is a 3.3% increase from last year, when the limit was set at $65,350. Last year's income limit for a single person was a significantly larger jump - an 11.5% increase - from the limit of $58,600 set in 2017.

On neighbor island counties, the figures are slightly lower. A single person earning up to $54,700 is considered low-income in the Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina area of Maui, while a person making up to $50,400 on Kauai County is considered low-income. For Hawaii County, the low-income limit for a single person is set at $44,000.

If you live in urban Honolulu and make $42,200 or less, you're considered "very low-income," and if you make $25,350 or less, you're "extra low-income." An individual making minimum wage in Hawaii, which is currently $10.10 per hour or $21,008 annually, as the sole job, would certainly meet that threshold.

The following are HUD's Section 8 low-income limits for fiscal year 2019:
Urban Honolulu
>> 1 person $67,500; 2 person $77,150; 3 person $86,800; 4 person $96,400
Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Maui
>> 1 person $54,700; 2 person $62,500; 3 person $70,300; 4 person $78,100
Hawaii County
>> 1 person $44,000; 2 person $50,250; 3 person $56,550; 4 person $62,800;
Kauai County
>> 1 person $50,400; 2 person $57,600; 3 person $64,800; 4 person $72,000
ON THE MOVE
Anthology Marketing Group has hired Jordan Bangerter is the new art director for Anthology's Advertising Group. Prior to joining Anthology, Bangerter was a graphics and print production assistant at Hon Graphics.

The University of Hawaii Foundation has announced that John Han is part of the executive leadership team where he will serve as the new chief operating officer. He previously worked for ABC Stores for 18 months, overseeing close to 30 employees in sales audit, accounting, payroll and accounts payable. Prior to working at ABC Stores, Han had 15 years' tenure at UH Foundation, including serving as an associate vice president of advancement services and associate vice president of data and technology services.

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A single person earning less than $67,500 now qualifies as 'low income' in urban Honolulu

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Are you single, and earning less than $67,500 a year? Based on the latest income limits set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, you qualify as a "low-income" individual in the urban Honolulu area. The income limits are used to determine eligibility for assisted housing programs, including Section 8 vouchers, and setting fair market rents.

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The market is most effective in producing high end units. The strategy has been to offer private developers incentives to build units for households making up to 140% area median income (up to $142,250 for a family of four), despite the fact that most demand comes from households making less than half this amount!

Source: https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/70195/1/Housing%20and%20Aloha%20%CA%BB%C4%80ina.pdf

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Median Sale Price for Homes and Condos in Hawai`i

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Median Sale Prices for Single Family Homes is $1M as of October 2021!

With housing prices souring too heights like never before, it is no wonder why housing continues to be an unprecedented crisis for local working class people in Hawaii. Given that developers rely on building up expensive apartment buildings, there is little to no effort or incentives to build up affordable housing for the families that really need it.

Source: Honolulu Board of Realtors https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K07XmUzyJdVs0MMR_UUmlPiK47DGm_Jl/view

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The state of Hawaii is often described as a melting pot of different cultures reflected in the languages, cuisines, and its people. So it can be difficult to imagine the presence of socioeconomic inequality amongst the diversity.

The Pacific Islander community, more specifically the Marshallese, ranks highest as the most-impoverished ethnic community with a 51 percent poverty rate.

Studies show that better income and economic well-being strongly correlates with long-time immigrants (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Filipino, etc.) as opposed to newer immigrant groups such as the Marshallese, Tongans, and Samoans.

Many of those belonging to newer immigrant groups lack access to safety net programs that lift people out of poverty. This barrier creates a problem that can last generations, keeping these people below the poverty line for a long time.

Source: Honolulu Civil Beat https://www.civilbeat.org/2018/03/racial-inequality-in-hawaii-is-a-lot-worse-than-you-think/

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Racial Inequality In Hawaii Is A Lot Worse Than You Think

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Although Hawaii has a reputation as a “racial paradise” with little racial inequality, there are huge differences in socioeconomic well-being among Hawaii’s various Asian and Pacific Islander communities.

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A large portion of Hawaii residents are cost-burdened, meaning that they spend at least 30 percent of their income on housing. The housing crisis has tangentially led to a homeless crisis, particularly on Oahu.

Source: https://hiappleseed.org/affordable-housing

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The attached worksheet goes over annual incomes in the past 12-months in the areas of East Honolulu, Kailua, Ewa, Nanakuli, and Waianae.

East Honolulu sees the highest household incomes while at the end of the chart, Waianae has some of the lowest household incomes on O'ahu. I was able to organize it so you can easily see the disproportionate wealth ranked from highest to lowest (left to right).

https://api.census.gov/data/2019/acs/acs5/subject

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Hawaii has the highest rate of homelessness in the U.S. "In order for us to really solve this crisis we have to realize that from homelessness to affordable housing, the gap is way too big, where else are they supposed to go?" Andria Tupola.

"..about being homeless, the sad part about it is our own people that lives here, our own culture that is homeless in our own homes." Twinkle Borges

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With the highest homelessness rate of any state in the US, Hawaii lawmakers struggle for solutions amid rising costs of living and low wages. But one group of homeless Hawaiians has taken matters into their own hands, forming a highly organized and self-sustaining community. Could a key part of solving Hawaii's homelessness problem actually come from its homeless citizens?

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Hawaii's homeless have few places to go: 'They don't know what to do with us' - video

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With the highest homelessness rate of any state in the US, Hawaii lawmakers struggle for solutions amid rising costs of living and low wages. But one group of homeless Hawaiians has taken matters into their own hands, forming a highly organized and self-sustaining community.

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Hawaii's Cost of Living is Driving Away Native Hawaiians

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Hawaii's Cost of Living is Driving Away Native Hawaiians

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In the 2010 census, it was reported that nearly half the population of Native Hawaiians living in the United States lived on the continental U.S. while the other half lived in Hawaii. The 2010 census also revealed that the Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander population living in Los Angeles County was more than the population of those living on Maui or Kauai County!

With the high cost of living in Hawaii, we can assume that it is one of the driving factors that cause Hawaii residents to move to the U.S. mainland. Many residents who migrate elsewhere do so in order to live comfortably, without the burden of living paycheck to paycheck to maintain a lifestyle in Hawaii.

If this trend continues, the number of Native Hawaiians being displaced on their own land will only increase.

Source: Ka Wai Ola https://kawaiola.news/ea/native-hawaiians-are-leaving-hawaii-and-what-that-means/

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Collected every 10 years, the next US Census is set for April 1, 2020. The population of the United States will once again be counted, including demographic, social and economic characteristics. For Native Hawaiians, the 2020 US Census may mark a major historic milestone.

The last census in 2010 counted 527,077 Native Hawaiians living in the United States, with 237,107-nearly half of them-living on the continent, while 289,970 live in Hawaiʻi. It begs the question: Will more Native Hawaiians be counted living outside of Hawaiʻi in the 2020 US Census?

In the 2000 census, citizens could report having more than one race for the first time. This resulted in a huge increase of Native Hawaiians (139.5%) reflected in the census, overall, as compared to 1990 census numbers. It also highlighted the growing trend of Native Hawaiians leaving Hawaiʻi. In fact, the 2010 census showed there were more "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders" living in Los Angeles County than in either Maui County (Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi) or Kauaʻi County (Kauaʻi and Niʻihau).

In a more recent report, another 5,071 Native Hawaiians moved outside of Hawaiʻi between 2013-2017, according to the Hawaiʻi State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. The majority moved to California, Nevada or Utah.

Native Hawaiians are not the only Polynesians moving away from their home islands. In the 2010 census the number of Samoans living on the US continent was nearly four times greater than the number of Samoans living in American Samoa.

Most leave for the same reasons that non-Native Hawaiian residents decide to leave Hawaiʻi: more opportunity, more resources, a lower cost of living and higher salaries.

Two months ago, in a qualitative study, Kamehameha Schools' Strategy and Innovation Group set out to uncover why Native Hawaiians are leaving. They hope to use the findings to determine if they should implement policy or strategy changes that may help Native Hawaiians choose to stay and thrive in the islands.

"What happens if Hawaiʻi is no longer a place where Native Hawaiians can have a good quality of life and afford to live?" asks Shawn Kanaʻiaupuni, executive strategy consultant for Kamehameha. "I'm hypothesizing that for many Hawaiians the affordability of housing is an issue," she adds. "For example, lower-middle-class Native Hawaiians who are in the gap group that can't qualify for federal aid or even college financial aid for their children; they might decide that they have to leave to find a more comfortable life in another place."

In a way, it's a new Polynesian migration; only this time it's to the continental US. Historically, Polynesians migrated to Hawaiʻi in two waves: the first from the Marquesas Islands sometime between 124 and 1120 AD, and then later from Tahiti.

There really is not much difference why Polynesians migrate today as compared to the past. People were looking for more opportunities and better resources on new land they could settle.

Regardless of the reasons early Polynesians decided to migrate, the data is pointing toward 2020 possibly being the year that Native Hawaiians living on the continent outnumber those living in Hawaiʻi.

For Native Hawaiian organizations funded by the government, the results of the 2020 census could potentially open discussions among their leadership about how - or if - their programs should extend to the continent. In the case of Papa Ola Lōkahi, a non-profit responsible for addressing Native Hawaiian health and well-being as outlined by the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act, assisting the growing population on the continent is something already on their mind.

"What's going to happen is really a huge question, so being mindful and prepared is really important," says Sheri-Ann Daniels, executive director of Papa Ola Lōkahi. The federal Act allows the organization to assist with Native Hawaiian health issues, regardless of location, and there are no stipulations regarding how money should be distributed. But it's an unprecedented scenario. Daniels says she'd be interested in looking at partnerships with other organizations to reach Native Hawaiians on the continent

"If you've ever had a chance to talk to many of the Hawaiians living on the continent, they do feel isolated," she says. "I think that's something that we've got to look at as a community, because I don't know that everybody agrees. But, at least under my tenure, a Hawaiian is a Hawaiian is a Hawaiian. Geography doesn't matter."

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Native Hawaiians Are Leaving Hawaiʻi - and What That Means - Ka Wai Ola

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By John K.S. Aeto, The Kalaimoku Group Collected every 10 years, the next US Census is set for April 1, 2020. The population of the United States will once again be counted, including demographic, social and economic characteristics. For Native Hawaiians, the 2020 US Census may mark a major historic milestone.

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The video goes over the perspective of a homeless camp in Waianae. Twinkie Borge has lived in this homeless camp for 10-years while also trying to ensure her community is taken care of. These people essentially have nowhere else to go at the hands of a system that has failed them. My Hawaiian Studies Kumu is from Waianae and he did tell me off camera that he thought poverty as such was normal up until the time he got in high school.

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Hawaii's homeless have few places to go: 'They don't know what to do with us'

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Estimated around 15,000 homeless individuals in Hawaii. And average life expectancy for Hawaii's homeless is 53, 30 years less than the general population.

Source: https://ltgov.hawaii.gov/homeless-in-hawaii-facts-and-resources/

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Hawaii is currently facing one of the worst homeless epidemics in the country with the highest rate of homelessness per capita in the nation. It is the number one priority of the Lieutenant Governor to work towards solutions for our homelessness crisis which has a devastating social and economic impact on our state.

Hawaii's Homeless:

Estimated to be around 15,000 homeless individuals in Hawaii

1,500 - 2,000 chronically homeless individuals ("Chronically homeless = Have been homeless for more than 6 months + mental and/or physical health conditions)

The average life expectancy for Hawaii's homeless is 53- almost 30 years less than the general population

They suffer high rates of mental illness, addiction, and PTSD

Disproportionately Native Hawaiian

The High Price of Homelessness in Hawaii:

Housing is Healthcare:

Housing a homeless individual drops their Medicaid costs by at least 43% and as much as 73%

Housing Hawaii's chronically homeless would result in at least $300,000,000 per year in Medicaid savings

People's overall health outcomes drastically improve when they're housed

Health complications from homelessness:

Projects and Initiatives

Master-planned tiny homes communities for the chronically homeless

Places of social respite and community-oriented

Three initial locations have been identified on Oahu at Kalauloa, Waimanalo, and Nimitz

They follow a traditional cultural model of communal housing with shared bathroom, kitchen, and leisure areas

**To learn more about the Kauhale Initiative and how you can be involved, click here**
Hawaii Homeless Healthcare Hui (H4)

Joint Outreach Centers

Permanent Supportive Housing (Housing First)

Rapid re-housing initiatives

Expansion of Section 8 vouchers

Emphasis on affordable housing development

Emphasis on transit-oriented development

Assisted Community Treatment

This new law requires treatment when an individual is deemed a danger to themselves or others or is decompensating due to severe mental illness or addiction

It is intended for the most severely incapacitated homeless individuals, many of whom suffer from untreated schizophrenia

Over 40 individuals who qualify for this treatment have already been identified in the urban core

It is the subject of this Hawaii News Now documentary "Prescribing Hope: Trapped on the Streets"

Lieutenant Governor Green's Homeless Resources
The Lieutenant Governor's 10 Point Plan on Homelessness Housing is Healthcare Brochure Institute for Human Services Hawaii Aloha United Way Mayor's Office of Housing

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Homeless In Hawaii : Facts and Resources

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Hawaii is currently facing one of the worst homeless epidemics in the country with the highest rate of homelessness per capita in the nation. It is the number one priority of the Lieutenant Governor to work towards solutions for our homelessness crisis which has a devastating social and economic impact on our state.