Hawaiʻi Appleseed unveils re-tooled website, enhancing public access to data, research, and advocacy tools
HONOLULU, Hawaiʻi — The Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice has launched a comprehensive re-tooling of its website—hiappleseed.org—transforming the platform into a more powerful, user-friendly hub for data, research and advocacy. This redesign reflects the organization’s ongoing commitment to transparency and community empowerment, making it easier than ever for policymakers, journalists, and residents to access the tools needed to advance economic justice across Hawaiʻi.
At the heart of the re-launch is a focus on greater utility and accessibility. The new site now features streamlined navigation to the organization’s core issue areas and corresponding policy priorities—including affordable housing, food equity, wages and labor, transportation equity, and tax and budget policy.
Under the new “Research” section, visitors can quickly locate in-depth policy reports, such as the recent Oʻahu Mobility Needs study, or toggle over to interactive data tools such as the Economic Justice Data Dashboard, which visualizes critical metrics like ALICE rates, SNAP participation, and cost-burdened renters down to the state legislative district level. A central “Media” section integrates extensive news coverage and press releases with Hawaiʻi Appleseed’s regularly-updated staff blog.
“The website is a data portal as well as a storytelling engine, built to reveal the disparities between communities and to provide the evidence needed to advocate for smarter, more targeted policy,” said Hawaiʻi Appleseed Director of Development Anthony Amador. “The re-tooled website amplifies this mission through its rich archive of publications, resources and media that highlight the organization’s 20-year legacy of impact litigation and systems change.”
Beyond data and research, the enhanced site serves as a central hub for civic engagement, with clear pathways for the public to participate in advocacy efforts, from coalition building to grassroots lobbying. By centralizing these resources, Hawaiʻi Appleseed aims to lower barriers for community members looking to engage with the legislative process and contribute to building a more just Hawaiʻi.
“The website is not just forward-looking; we ground our work in the lessons of the past, and in our own history,” added Will White, Hawaiʻi Appleseed Executive Director.
In that spirit, the re-tooled site now fully integrates the history and case files of Lawyers for Equal Justice, the impact litigation organization that became Hawaiʻi Appleseed. Together with a timeline of Hawaiʻi Appleseed’s history, the new LEJ section chronicles Hawaiʻi Appleseed’s landmark legal victories and systemic impact over more than two decades.
“Visitors can explore historic cases that have shaped housing protections, workers’ rights, and public benefits access in the islands—context that is essential for understanding both how far Hawaiʻi has come and how far it still has to go,” said White. “These archival materials, previously housed separately, are now woven into the main Hawaiʻi Appleseed website, offering researchers, students, and advocates a comprehensive timeline of the organization’s litigation legacy alongside its current policy work.”
