Aloha United Way received over 29,000 calls to its 211 resource hotline in 2024.
Close to a third of all callers last year were seeking some form of housing assistance. Within that category, help with rent payments was the top request.
211 tracks the types of requests that come into its hotline. It also classifies whether or not a caller's need has been "met," meaning that 211 was able to connect the caller with a given resource.
Suzanne Skjold, the chief operating officer at Aloha United Way, said that there was a significant amount of unmet need for rental assistance in 2024, in part because many programs that offer rental assistance are out of funds. According to Skjold, Maui had the highest unmet need overall in 2024.
"The data that we see in 211 is capturing what we are intuitively seeing across the state," she said, pointing to the high cost of living and the acute needs of the Maui community since the August 2023 wildfires.
Aloha United Way, which has been in the process of overhauling its online resource search engine, also saw a 1,000% increase in its 211 website searches in the past six months.
Skjold said she is pleased that Aloha United Way is able to offer different pathways for people to access resources.
"Folks love to talk to somebody and give a call, and we're always happy to help that way," she said. "But if someone knows exactly what they're looking for and wants to just do a quick search, we want that to be available to them as well."
To find out more about 211's resource database or to ask for assistance, call 211 or visit their website here.
