The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday announced $22.3 million in Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant (NHHBG) funding to support the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL). This funding will support the housing needs of low-income Native Hawaiian families.
“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,” said Jason Pu, Regional Administrator for HUD Region 9, which includes Hawaii. “The NHHBG program enables HUD to get federal funds directly to Native Hawaiian communities for more affordable housing now and long-term investments that will benefit generations to come. ”The funding may be used for the construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of housing; infrastructure; and various support services. In addition, the funding may be used to provide rental assistance to Native Hawaiians living on or off the Hawaiian home lands.
Over the past 20 years, over $150 million in NHHBG funds have been used by DHHL to construct, rehabilitate, and acquire over 700 affordable homes; improve over 600 lots with infrastructure development to support construction of new housing; rehabilitate community centers to provide housing services to residents; and provide over 3,000 families with housing-related services, including financial literacy training, home repair training, and rental assistance.