Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 8, 1 August 2022 — Empowering Native Hawaiians to Own Homes [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Empowering Native Hawaiians to Own Homes

Heide Kila oi Wai' anae expresses a eommon sentiment held by Native Hawaiians. "We've been renters all our lives, so we've nevei had the opportunity to buy a home because we just fall short on many points. So hopefully...everybody has an opportunity and a ehanee to heeome homeowners in Hawai'i, where we live and grew up." Homeownership rates

within the Native Hawaiian population remain lower compared to non-Hawaiians. According to OHA's Office of Strategy Management, 57% of Native Hawaiians are homeowners compared to 61% of non-Hawaiians. 73% of Native Hawaiians who are not homeowners say it is too expensive, while 45% say that they cannot afford a down payment. OHA has a constitutional responsibility to advocate for the overall wellbeing of Native Hawaiians. This responsibility includes ensuring that beneficiaries have a pathway to heeome homeowners and the ability to build generational wealth. To address the laek of homeownership, OHA adopted the Mana i Mauli Ola Strategic Plan. OHA's Strategic Plan focuses on "leveraging partnerships to ensure that Native Hawaiians obtain homeownership." On June 28, the Board of Trustees approved a $1.5 million grant to the Honolulu Habitat for Humanity. According to Edna Johnson, OHA's grants supervisor, within two years, nine Native Hawaiians are projected to heeome new homeowners and 36 Native Hawaiians are expected to benefit from the project. Nine homes may not seem like mueh, but it represents a very significant value for only $1.5 million - especially since a single median price home in Hawai'i is over $1 million. OHA's housing grant is a step in the right direction to make more beneficiaries homeowners. On a larger scale, with the potential to make homeowners out of thousands of Native Hawaiians, is the state's appropriation of $600 million to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL). This historic funding is projected to significantly reduce number of Native Hawaiians (now nearly 29,000) on the DHHL

waiting list. In addition, Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA), in partnership with Hawai'i Community Lending, provides homebuyer counseling and community lending products for low- and mod-erate-income families. HCA's services include Empowering Native Hawaiians to Own Homes down payment grants of up to $7,500 and affordable mortgage loans of up to $100,000. The Hawaiian Community

Development Corporation (HCDB) is another organization that offers hnaneial services to beneficiaries. HCDB is an "emerging Native Community Development Financial Institution" whieh offers the "Homestead Loan Fund program." This program provides financing to Native Hawaiian families for building small homes on vacant lots. Overall, the newly appropriated DHHL funds and financial services provided by organizations like Hawaiian Community Assets and the Hawaiian Community Development Corporation ean all contribute to significant increases in homeownership for Native Hawaiians. Despite these valuable services, thousands of beneficiaries continue to struggle with purchasing a home. OHA recognizes that it has the eapaeity to increase homeownership for beneficiaries. For example, OHA has ean continue awarding grants to organizations that have the capability to provide more occupancy-ready homes for Native Hawaiians. In addition, OHA could seek to expand the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund (NHRLF) to include mortgage loan products, thereby reducing loan limitations, as identified by OHA Loan Fund manager Aikū e Kalima. It is essential that we continue to work toward ensuring the hnaneial wellbeing of our beneficiaries, especially by helping them heeome homeowners. The homeownership process ean provide a pathway for Hawaiians to attain hnaneial success, whieh will in turn benefit all of Hawai'i. Ke holomua ka po'e Hawai'i, lanakila nā kānaka a pau ma Hawai'i nei (when the Hawaiian people succeed, everyone in Hawai'i succeeds).B

Keli'i Akina, ' Ph.D. i Trustee, j At-large