Charles Nahale lost his home in last year's wildfire on Maui. Like so many survivors, he was shuffled in and out of hotels and condos for months.
He finally got a call from FEMA in April telling him an apartment was ready. But it wasn’t what he expected.
“I get there, and that unit isn't anything like FEMA promised. The contract even has different specs than the actual space. The space was a studio. The bed was like, in the kitchen," Nahale said.
"The contract said it's a one-bedroom, recently remodeled. It was run down. Drawers were broken there. There was a leak in the toilet that there was no one to contact to get that fixed," he continued.
Nahele did not sign the contract, knowing that once he did, he would be liable for damages.
“I was heartbroken because I had waited so long to get out of the hotels into a place that has a kitchen," he said.
He waited another two months in a hotel before FEMA contacted him about a new place. Again, the unit needed repairs.
This time, FEMA said they would fix it, and Nahale waited another month. Finally, in June, he moved into the one-bedroom unit on West Maui, where he says he’s grateful to be.
However, he worries about what’s next.
“There are thousands and thousands, over 7,000 or more of us, that are wondering what will happen when the contract with FEMA ends in the beginning of 2025, in February," he said.
February is when a lot of direct lease agreements that placed many wildfire survivors in longer-term housing are set to expire.
“There is a bit of a knot in your psyche and in your stomach, that, you know, every day that goes by, getting closer to that termination day, and we're wondering what's going to happen? Are we all going to end up on the streets again?”
Nahale works in the wedding and Hawaiian music industry, and says business has been slow. But he’s more concerned for the wellbeing of fellow fire survivors.
“It's really hard when you've lost everything and you're trying to make sense of life again and figure out the essentials of life," he said. "This is not just the periphery of life, [this is] your house and your work to then have to deal with all these things. It's compounded. It shouldn't be so hard. And I wish our government — it doesn't feel like they're on our side.”
Nahale doesn’t call the one-year mark of the fire an "anniversary." That sounds like a celebration, he said, which it isn’t.
“The way that I'm honoring what we going through, and what has happened, is by continuing to make sure everybody is good.... and putting my efforts into helping whatever way I can.”
