News & Updates
Hawaii Appleseed's Gavin Thornton Discusses $100 Million CARES Act Housing Support for Hawaii's Families
Gavin Thornton, Executive Director of the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, discusses recent legislation passed that will provide $100 million of CARES Act funds to folks in need of rental and mortgage support, and why this assistance is necessary to shield the state from even greater costs in the future.
AUW's Lisa Kimura Discusses the Updated ALICE Report, and the Impact of COVID-19 on Hawaii's Struggling Families
Lisa Kimura, Vice President of Community Impact at Aloha United Way, discusses the updated ALICE® report, what it told us about Hawaii’s financially struggling families pre-COVID since the last report was done in 2018, how much Hawaii’s ALICE-and-below population will grow as a result of COVID-19, and the level of broad collaboration necessary to uplift families out of ALICE status.
Fifty-nine Percent of Hawaii Households Estimated to Experience Significant Financial Hardship by the End of 2020
Aloha United Way released an updated report, ALICE®: A Study in Financial Hardship in Hawaii, indicating forty-two percent of Hawaii’s households are struggling to get by. That was pre-COVID-19 arriving to our islands. We partnered with AUW to estimate that in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, an additional 35,000 households will face severe financial hardship by the end of the year.
(Updated) Modeling Suggests Substantial Increases In The Financial Vulnerability Of Hawaii's Families
Although the specifics of COVID-19’s economic effects on Hawaii remain unclear, our modeling suggest impacts on households of all income levels. Based on preliminary results, we estimate that nearly 134,000—approximately 30 percent—of all Hawaii households stand to bear a significant loss of income (defined as a loss in household income greater than 25 percent) due to the effects of the pandemic on the local economy.
Hawaii Financial Health Pulse Report Provides In-Depth View of Residents' Financial Struggles
A study released yesterday further substantiates the financial hardships faced by, and resilience exhibited by, people living in Hawaii. The Hawaii Financial Health Pulse, sponsored by Hawaii Community Foundation and Bank of Hawaii, is a localized version of the U.S. Financial Health Pulse, which examines the financial health of Americans. In close collaboration with local advisors, The Financial Health Network surveyed more than 1,600 Hawaii residents to better understand their “financial health”—that is, how they spend, save, borrow, and plan in their financial lives.