Column: Gentrification pushes Native Hawaiians out of their homes

Gentrification and rising cost of living have caused catastrophic social and economic impacts on the Native Hawaiian population, and the matter will only continue to get worse unless substantive action is taken to ameliorate the current housing crisis.

So how did this all begin? Hawaii garnered global attention for its agricultural strength after the first sugar plantation here was established in 1835, an event which many consider to be a catalyst of Hawaii’s annexation in 1898. In 1920, the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was established in an attempt to address the impacts of colonization. Through this act, 200,000 acres of land was allocated for Native Hawaiian homesteads — yet a century later, the goal of this act is still falling short.

A critical issue is that more than half of the land allocated within the act is uninhabitable due to geological barriers, the presence of protected species, and lack of infrastructure. There are not nearly enough habitable housing lots to meet the demand of Native Hawaiians. For those who are not beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, the rising cost of rent is proving to be a major financial stressor.

According to a study conducted by Hawai’i Health Matters, 56.8% of renters in Honolulu County were spending more than 30% of their household income on the cost of rent alone, and home ownership among Native Hawaiians is declining due to soaring property values. Zillow has been tracking median home values for more than two decades, and the data is shocking.

In January 2000, the Zillow Home Value Index for Urban Honolulu recorded that the median home value was $252,058; the home values in that same region are now valued at $825,193 as of August 2021. With a 227.38% increase in property values, and an ever-increasing cost of living, countless Native Hawaiians have been forced to relocate due to the financial stressors of gentrification.

As of 2020, only 25.6% of Honolulu County residents have any Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander ancestry. Not to mention, according to the 2020 Oahu Point in Time Report, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are overrepresented in the homeless population by 210%, with the most common self-reported cause of homelessness being job loss and inability to afford rent.

So what needs to be done? Long-term rent subsidies could be an effective means of supporting families with Native Hawaiian ancestry. A study published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management found that long-term rent subsidy halved the rates of homelessness and use of emergency shelters amongst over 2,000 participants, reduced the rates of parent-child separation, halved the rate of domestic violence reported, and there was a significant decrease in substance use reported throughout the span of the two year study.

Currently, the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) has a rent assistance program for COVID-19 relief, but it is not a permanent program and it requires applicants to have earnings of less than 80% of the local median income. Based on the area median income for 2021, a two-person household would have to earn less than $16,960 annually to qualify for rent assistance through DHHL.

With the sky-high cost of living in Hawaii, this earnings cap still disqualifies countless families who are housing insecure. Calling for an amendment of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act to include a long-term rent subsidy program with more realistic standards for qualification could significantly mitigate the socioeconomic stress being faced by Native Hawaiian families, and it is up to us as Hawaiian citizens to fight for this change.

Claire Xu, of Oahu, is currently a masters of social work candidate in Southern California.