Just outside of Lāhainā, community-run resource hubs have organized to provide support and supplies to those displaced by the fires.
At Pohaku Beach Park, commonly known as S-Turns, the community has come together to set up a grocery store and resource center. But instead of a roof overhead, there are E-Z Up tents pitched by the beach.
There's a food aisle, a school supply aisle, a medical station, massage practitioners and mental health counselors. There are hot meals and water, and picnic tables with Starlink internet access. It's all free for those displaced by the Lāhainā fires.
Kanamu Balinbin and his wife helped organize the community station in Kahana, where they have been working nearly 24/7 for the past two weeks.
“I believe we were the very first hub to start. And just constantly, we went from one tent to two tents to three tents. Now we have 10 tents. We have a couple of carports people brought. You know, just the outpouring of community support,” Balinbin said.
The county said there are just a few families still in Maui shelters after the fire that burned down Lāhainā Town and more than 2,000 homes on Aug. 8.
Most are either staying with family, friends or have moved to temporary housing in hotels and condos. Balinbin said the S-Turn hub is helping support those housed near them.
“Currently the surrounding hotels here we have 148 families. Full families, like 4 to 5 to 10 people that are gathered together in their hotel rooms, and we're sustaining them by the donations from our community,” he said.
Balinbin and his wife, Richelle, have lost their jobs, friends and family members to the fire. Though they still have their home, their family has been practically living at Pohaku Park, helping others.
“While my house wasn't burnt down, all my friends, all my cousins, the plantation area in Mala where I grew up, my grandma's house, my aunty's house, all my cousins live down there,” he said. “We have all have extended families. We hurt when they hurt. We celebrate when they celebrate.”
When community members step up to help, victims of the fire are not the only ones who benefit. Balinbin said volunteering has become a way to deal with the aftermath of the tragedy.
“There's a saying, Lāhainā is one town, one community, one people... That's the way a lot of people are coping: helping other people that lost more than they did,” he said.
“We've supplied thousands of people here. Tons and tons of product have left — diapers, baby formula, canned food, toiletries, feminine hygiene. Some people just need a tent, some people need food, some people just need a hug.”
Lehua Makekau grew up in Lāhainā and is one of many volunteering at S-Turns. She sorted keiki clothing and school supply donations as she talked.
“Lāhainā is my childhood and so we just got to stick together and work together,” Makekau said.
“The community… they showed they weren't going to wait around, because families had nothing. Each day I look at things and I cry, because you can always see Lāhainā — and then it goes back, there's my mom's house and my mom's graveyard. It's heartbreaking. But Lāhainā's always been strong. Very, very strong.”
Kanamu Balinbin said the S-Turns effort is all volunteer, with no government assistance. Like many locals, he said he likes to be self-sufficient. But he said more government communication would be helpful so the community can better plan for the future.
In the meantime, Richelle Balinbin said their community hub isn't going anywhere.
“We are a couple of families that got together, and now all the other communities are coming in and chipping in, and people that are displaced are coming down because they're just looking for some normalcy and some companionship,” she said.
“We've been helping each other from the beginning. And we've come in as strong as Lāhainā has always been, where everybody's showing up and chipping in and donating their time, their resources, whatever they can donate. We're just showing up every day until we're not needed because we don't know how long this is going to be.”
