Maui wildfire victims still have no housing seven months after the fire.
Even mainstream ABC News, Hawaii’s Democratic Governor, and even the ABC News is surprising. Josh Green acknowledged that many Lahaina residents still live in hotels. Green said, “Up to 30 people moved into longer-term housing daily.” However, thousands of residents were still without housing as of the 27th of March. If previous reports are accurate, the accommodations for survivors may not be of top quality.
Federal and state governments are building “modular housing units for transition” with the aim of housing all displaced survivors by July 1. This is according to Green and ABC. Some units are in poor locations and others have questionable quality.
Green explained that some Lahaina locals have turned down rental offers because they prefer to be near their work and children’s school.
Green stated that people have four chances to accept the housing offered, and two chances for appeal. Green said that some people had rejected housing up to six times.
ABC tried to portray Green as understanding. But when people who have lost everything are only offered government housing units that are too far away from their loved ones, it is no wonder they want something better.
Green made it clear that he doesn’t (using taxpayers’ money, of course), want to continue paying for hotels, no matter how uncomfortable and unsuitable other housing may be. ABC reported that the Democrat Governor said: “If they haven’t moved out of hotels yet, it’s only fair.” “We need resources to build the next school and rebuild clinics lost in the fire.”
Biden, instead of spending taxpayer dollars on a new dock sending more aid to jihadists in Gaza, or funding LGBTQ activism through the United States government, could spare some money for Maui residents.
Maui is experiencing a housing shortage. West Maui has a severe housing shortage. Many of the available houses have been used to rent out as vacation rentals by tourists.
Five hundred and sixty-one of these properties were owned by homeowners. Green stated that one-quarter of the lots had already been cleaned of debris.
He says “already”, after more than seven months. ABC reports that permits for Lahaina reconstruction will be available in 2024. However, it’s not known how many of the former residents will have the opportunity to rebuild. The displaced survivors of the Lahaina disaster have long been concerned that they may be overlooked by wealthy outsiders when Lahaina rebuilds.
There is no easy fix for the unfortunate Maui residents who have been displaced, and government involvement often creates more issues than it solves. But Maui survivors are not a top priority for Democrats at the federal or state levels. Both politically and physically, they have been left in the cold.
