In their own words.

“I had low-income housing in Lahaina, and I lost it in the fire. I’ve been homeless many times. I go through jobs like you would change your clothes, because businesses can’t afford to pay me or even stay open.”

“I’m 29 years old, from Maui, and I graduated from Maui High School in 2017. You would think that in my late 20s I would have it together by now, but that’s not the case for most single people like me. I’ve been on my own since I was 18. Maui is home, and this place is all I know. I hope this gets the community’s attention. It’s very nerve-racking at times, but mahalo for letting me share my journey.”

“When I hear claims about the number of residential and commercial permits issued, I have to ask: Where is the rebuilding? Walk through central Lahaina. Look at the empty harbor. Look at the vacant lots where homes and businesses once stood. Look at the streets where families once lived, worked, shopped, ate, raised their children, and built their lives. For many of us, Lahaina has not been rebuilt. It is still waiting.”

“Some of us have spent years trying to navigate the permitting process simply to rebuild on property our families have owned for decades. We are trying to get permits. We are trying to get utilities. We are trying to find jobs. We are trying to figure out how we are supposed to remain in a community that no longer has the infrastructure and economic opportunities it once had.”

“These are not partisan questions. They are survival questions. I don’t expect government to rebuild everything overnight. I understand that rebuilding after a disaster of this magnitude is extraordinarily complicated. But I do expect honesty. I expect transparency. I expect accountability.”

“We lost our home on August 8, 2023, escaping with minutes to spare. While we are grateful to have survived, the past three years have been grueling. Sadly, others were not so fortunate.”

“The permitting process was structured on day-to-day guesswork with constantly shifting rules. Our only support came from a single compassionate County employee doing their best within a broken system.”

“In 2009 my husband and I returned to Maui and purchased a one bedroom/one bathroom condo on the West side. We lived in our condo for four years and loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, my husband’s health issues required us to move back to the mainland and he recently passed away.”

“Because of its location on the shoreline, our flood insurance has risen from $15,000 a few years ago to $53,000 today. HOA dues are excessive to say the least. Clearly, maintenance of old oceanfront buildings is costly.”

“Is it finally understood that the vacation rental industry employs thousands of Maui residents? Rather than all this turmoil and strife, our local government should be building affordable housing for local families rather than conjuring up ways to take legally purchased investment properties from honest, hardworking people.”

“On Maui, the only option to have the procedure done on-island is by a general surgeon. As a cancer survivor, the only appropriate option for me was a gastroenterologist. The nearest one is on Oʻahu. It felt so daunting that I put the whole thing off for over a year.”

“I had to book two round-trip tickets, find a hotel, and do the prep alone in a hotel room the night before. My husband took a day off work and flew over just to drive me. The whole ordeal cost more than $750 out of pocket. It’s just insane that we have to do all that because of the lack of a basic gastroenterologist here on Maui. And it’s not the only time my husband or I have had to go to Oʻahu for medical care.”

“The shortage is not specific to physicians, but to specialists across the healthcare spectrum. Insurance reimbursements are far too low relative to the cost of living. It doesn’t matter how many homes are built in Maui County; physicians will never be able to live here if reimbursements don’t rise.”

“Margins are exceedingly thin in healthcare, and taking 4.5% of gross revenue in general excise tax is absurd. Residents are going to start seeing more and more providers move to a cash-based model, or refuse Medicare and Quest patients entirely.”

“We are experiencing the exact same thing. The explosion of Silicon Valley forced the cost of living so high that very few middle-income families can afford to live here. The politicians keep building housing and saying some will be affordable, but they don’t say affordable for whom. Our hospital cannot get doctors.”

“Three generations of my family have lived here, yet my kids cannot afford to. Leveling the playing field between the haves and the have-nots is the only way to make a sustainable living situation for so many exploited locals.”