USDA raises meal reimbursement rate for Hawaiʻi’s kids
While the new rate is still less than half of what advocates wanted, it’s been met with praise in Hawaiʻi.
Proposed tax increase to fund homeless services not likely to advance in legislature
SB678 received nearly 100 pages of written testimony, with only two testifiers opposing it.
Property sale tax could create $2.1 million for Kauaʻi homeless
Based on 2018 data, Hawaiʻi Appleseed estimated the tax would generate $174 million for affordable housing and $34.8 million for homeless services statewide, including $2.1 million for Kauaʻi.
State gets more funding for school lunches
Funding will go toward providing healthy meals at Hawaiʻi schools, child care, after-school and summer programs where more than 100,000 children will benefit.
Rate increase will bring in $8 million per year to feed Hawaiʻi’s keiki
These increased rates are projected to bring an additional $8 million a year to Hawaiʻi to support healthy meals for children.
Inside the push to make school meals free in Hawaiʻi
A growing number of states are looking for ways to make free meals a permanent part of public education.
Finland delegation brings new homeless housing ideas to Hawaiʻi
Nonprofits who have come to the conference say they've learned a lot. It's public funding that pays for housing the homeless in Finland. Housing is considered a fundamental right there.
Tracking Hawaiʻi paychecks versus living costs since 1969
To see if people are better off than their grandparents, we compared wages after inflation, debt loads, where people spent their money and more.
Maui looks to crack down on companies selling shares of second homes
A County Council measure would expand the definition of timeshare to include stays of up to 180 days to try to limit multiple owners from buying into vacation homes.
Report: State law successfully limited evictions during COVID-19 pandemic
A state-mandated free mediation program was a resounding success in preventing evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report.
Report: Mandatory mediation saved hundreds of tenants from eviction
While the Act 57 program ended in August 2022, Hawaiʻi Appleseed will be advocating for a permanent rental relief program that includes mediation to stabilize affordable housing.
Off the News: Keeping renters in their homes
Act 57 diverted as many as 1,201 eviction cases in 2021, benefiting tenants and landlords, according to a Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice study.
Planning averts spike in COVID-era homelessness in Hawaiʻi
Hawaiʻi Appleseed last week released the results of a study showing “a pre-litigation mediation program” known as Act 57 helped renters and landlords and reduced both court costs and a strain on the Judicial system.
Eviction mediation study: KITV4 talks with Kenna StormoGipson with Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice
Local nonprofit Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice just released the results of its study that look at whether Hawaiʻi’s Act 57 mediation program worked.
This is how the candidates for Maui mayor want to tackle the housing crisis
Both say the lack of housing for residents is the county’s top problem, but they’re proposing very different solutions.
Rising prices, increasing poverty, slowing job growth: Hawaiʻi’s economy faces grim times
Among those facing higher costs are Oʻahu utility customers whose October bills could show more cost increases on top of a dramatic rise over the past year.
‘People are really struggling:’ Hawaiʻi food banks scramble to meet increased demand
Rising food costs and the end of pandemic-era assistance programs are driving a spike in demand for food assistance.
Nonprofits team up to curb hunger with new national funding
The four Hawaiʻi nonprofits are among 13 new partners in MAZON’s Emerging Advocacy Fund, a nationwide effort to support and expand grassroots anti-hunger work in the states most impacted by food insecurity.
Safeway register donations power school breakfast program
During the month of September, donations will be used by Hawaiʻi Appleseed to improve access to and quality of school breakfast for children across the State of Hawaiʻi.
Blueprint for Hawaiʻi housing? UH project for students and faculty is going up at relatively little cost
A Hawaiʻi lawmaker says the public private housing partnership could be a model for state-owned affordable rentals.