By Lisa Dahm
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Three weeks after Hurricane Lala badly affected the southern area of Hawaii island, Sacred Heart Church in Naalehu continues to see damage, according to Father William “Pila” Tulua, pastor of the church as well as Holy Rosary Church in Pahala. In a phone interview with the Hawaii Catholic Herald, he said the area is now in the recovery phase.
Hope Services Hawaii, a nonprofit affiliate of the Diocese of Honolulu that provides social, medical and housing assistance to those in need, was on the ground in Naalehu immediately following the hurricane. The agency prepared 50 food kits with nonperishable items that were delivered to seniors, and workers assisted parishioners in Naalehu who needed assistance.
Through recent natural disasters — the Kilauea eruption in 2018, the Lahaina wildfire in 2023, the earthquake in May in South Kona that damaged more than 200 homes and destroyed eight properties, and hurricanes Lala and Lowell — many relief organizations and ministries have formed deep bonds within the local community and built friendships with each other to bring the right services and supplies to the people who need it most.
Tina Andrade, president and CEO of Catholic Charities Hawaii, said the Maui wildfire three years ago prompted a shift in strategy, moving the organization toward providing assistance much earlier in the disaster cycle rather than waiting for long-term recovery.
A new model was developed using parishes as locations to collect information and provide early stabilization services such as rent assistance.
“It was at that point that we made a decision to really focus on building that disaster recovery support so we have a framework for responding to disasters,” Andrade said of the Lahaina wildfire. “We have people identified that can help work on disasters, and we have a pipeline of support across the nation.”
Catholic Charities Hawaii community directors maintain offices on each island and connect with local organizations there to ensure a site-specific response while tapping into a national pipeline of case managers if isle staff are also victims of the disaster.
“Our response early on is to help get families stabilized,” Andrade said. “They are so vulnerable in this time.”
As each community continues its recovery work, Andrade said Catholic Charities Hawaii can help with housing or financial assistance once the initial emergency situation has been stabilized.
“The recovery is long, so we through partners like Catholic Charities USA, the Hawaii Community Foundation and donations that come in through the public, we are able to use those funds to provide financial assistance to families for housing or for other rebuilding,” she said.
Long-term recovery involves disaster case management in which staff members establish relationships with families to identify specific needs and secure matching funding.
For example, Andrade said that in the wake of the May earthquake, Catholic Charities Hawaii helped homeowners with destroyed water conveyance systems.
“Water is really important, and that wasn’t something that was provided by anyone else, So we’re helping people to restore their catchments,” Andrade said.
And following the devastating Kona low storms in March, Catholic Charities Hawaii partnered with the Holomua Collective to facilitate $10,000 grants for homeowners.
“Things are changing,” Andrade said. “They’re a lot more unpredictable, and so, as an organization, we just have to be ready to respond.”