Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 2011 — OHA loan helps in emergencies [ARTICLE]

OHA loan helps in emergencies

By Harold Nedd n the scramble to make ends meet on budgets without wiggle room, increasingly more consumers like Rene Irvine are stumbling on an often overlooked emergency loan program at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The 48-year-old Hilo resident is one of 17 Native Hawaiian borrowers with moderate-to-good credit scores who since July have been approved for more than $76,000 to pay for emergency auto repairs, career training, home repairs and funeral expenses. OHA's Consumer Micro-Loan Programmakes up to $7,500 in lowinterest loans available to Native Hawaiian consumers experiencing temporary hnaneial hardships due to unforeseen circumstances, or a yearning to learn critical new skills that could bolster their careers.

"I cried when OHA approved my application for a $7,500 loan to make my house handicap accessible for my 76-year-old mother," said Irvine, who works in sales at a resort in Waikoloa on the Big Island. "My mother will now have the flexibility to move around the house safely. This gives me peaee of mind." Last year, the program approved 42 loan applications for $224,748, up from 37 loan applications for $206,989 a year earlier. Already, the program is on paee to approve 68 applications in the current fiscal year that ends June 30, 2012. Mapuana Hanapi, 30, who teaches Hawaiian Studies to fourth graders on Moloka'i, tapped the programon Oct. 21 for $3,000 after her mother and aunts were turned down by other lending sources for a loan to cover funeral expenses for her unele on Maui. "We are all

relieved that we ean now give him a proper send-off," Hanapi said. "We're really glad OHA was able to help out." For more information about the program, eall (808) 594-1835 or visit www.oha.org/cmlp. ■

"I cried when OHA approved my application for a $7,500 loan to make my house handicap accessible for my 76-year-old mother." — Rene Irvine, OHA CMLP loan applicant