Impact
What makes Hawaiʻi special is not just its natural beauty, it is the people. Hawaiʻi’s unique blend of cultures has created rich traditions that define its identity. For the spirit of Aloha to continue in the islands we need the people that live those values. PAL is proud to house local, multigenerational families, preserving Hawaiʻi’s cultural heritage.
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Meet Lincoln and Carrie
Lincoln and Carrie were the first houseless family that we moved into our service-enriched affordable housing community. Lincoln is Kanaka Maoli, born and raised on Kaua‘i with family tracing back to the mokupuni (island) of Ni‘ihau. They were living at the beach park and Lincoln was facing some very serious health complications. Being unsheltered, he was unable to safely undergo the necessary medical procedures.
Since joining our community, Lincoln has finally been able to get the care he needed and his recovery has gone smoothly. Lincoln and Carrie are also entrepreneurs, running a landscaping and housecleaning business respectively. We are inspired by their resilience and grateful to have them as part of our PAL family.
Meet Rokko
Rokko is originally from the Marshall Islands. Her family moved to the Big Island when she was little, looking for a chance at a better life. Her and her husband Amos and their three children moved to Kaua’i in 2015 to help her elderly father. When he passed away, they were unable to find housing and became houseless. They faced houselessness for one year, staying at the beach or sometimes in their car. During the day, they worked while their kids were in school. At night, they worried for the safety of their children while sleeping at the beach.
Rokko is so happy to be a tenant at Kauhale O Kekaha. She works hard as a housekeeper at a hotel and also at her church as the treasurer. A devote believer, she thanks God every day for the sense of security she feels in her new home. She is already looking hopefully toward the future, with the desire to go back to school to study business and to become a PAL homeowner. When asked what she would like to say to our donors, she replied, “Thank you for keeping my family safe.”
Meet the future
As we build homes, we aren’t just thinking about relieving our current housing tragedy, we are thinking about the future; our keiki (children). Affordable housing is essential to ending childhood poverty. When a family can’t afford a home, they likely also can’t afford nutritious food, health care, childcare and education. This, coupled with the stress and trauma of housing insecurity, can make a child susceptible to long-term developmental and health problems.
We also need to create a hopeful future for our keiki as they grow into young adults. One where they don’t feel that they won’t be able to afford to live here and that they will need to move away after high school or college. One where they aren’t forced to move to the continental US to start their own families, separated from their kūpuna or spurring them to follow as well. We need to make sure there is enough housing for the next generation that will lead us forward.