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/ 

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

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.”