A group of 17 Oʻahu nonprofit organizations will receive $4.5 million collectively over the next three years to address issues related to housing and financial stability, the Aloha United Way and Hawaiʻi Community Foundation announced Thursday.

Known as the 2022–24 ALICE Initiative, the program is designed to help working families in Hawaiʻi, where a high cost of living and relatively low wages leave many people struggling to get by. The Aloha United Way estimates that, as of 2020, 59 percent of Hawaiʻi households were working but having a hard time making ends meet, with no safety net for emergencies.

Another recipient, the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, believes government-owned rental housing provides a more realistic pathway for most people. In any event, a key is to provide some level of stability so people do not face ever increasing monthly rent payments.

The ALICE reports show just how many people are vulnerable, Thornton said.

“When AUW puts out this information it just makes it really clear to people that this is a systemic problem,” he said. “We have a fundamental problem with our economy if so many people are struggling.”

“Fundamentally, I think its adopting a new perspective on housing, which is really housing as a human right. And that’s a really big shift from where we’re at,” he added.