Millions of dollars soon to be available for Maui immigrant fire survivors

KAHULUI (HawaiiNewsNow) - Maui immigrant fire survivors will soon be eligible for millions of dollars to help with their recovery efforts.

Roots Reborn has launched the Our Financial Future program aimed to help immigrants who lost their jobs or homes in the 2023 fires.

“Nothing like this has ever been done in Hawaii,” said Dr. Ruben Juarez, a professor at the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. “There are very few examples that have been done in the mainland like this, so it’s really impressive what you guys have done.”

Roots Reborn is a Maui-based disaster response nonprofit. Executive director Veronica Mendoza Jachowski says the organization especially wants to help those who are too afraid to come forward.

“They’re afraid of deportation,” Jachowski said. “Especially with the incoming administration. So there’s a lot of fear and the belief that if they get resources in some way, especially if it’s meaningful like this, that the government will find out and they’ll come for them.”

Recipients must be foreign-born, at least 18 years old, and living on Maui with a government-issued ID.

Each qualified resident can receive up to $5K for completing a financial literacy course that helps them set up a bank account.

Jachowski anticipates at least 400 applicants.

“Not only were people living paycheck to paycheck, they were paying too much to have those paychecks cashed, and then they’re taking this cash and putting it under their mattresses in their homes,” said Trevor Tokishi, Valley Isle Community Federal Credit Union president.

“They’re spending way too much time and money just trying to manage personal finances because they didn’t have access to the tools that they need,” Tokishi said.

Jachowski says Roots Reborn clients lost approximately $2.3 million in cash in the fires.

Dania Dominguez is one of them.

“My family was also that family that believed that having their money in their mattresses was the safest. My family lost a lot of money in the fire,” Dominguez said. “Having this $5,000 for my family would be huge.”

Applications will be accepted from next Monday, Jan. 20, through Friday, Jan. 31.

The program is supported by funding from the Hawaii Community Foundation and the American Red Cross.

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