Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 5, 1 May 2014 — HUD to study Native Hawaiian housing needs [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HUD to study Native Hawaiian housing needs

By DHHL Staff The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and its study team is preparing to launeh the Native Hawaiian component of a nationwide study on the housing needs in native communities, Assess-

ment of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Housing Needs. The key to the Native Hawaiian portion of the study are 500 face-to-face household surveys set to take plaee this summer from June to September. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is partnering with HUD to reach Native Hawaiian households to participate in this study. "This is an incredible opportunity for our community. It's been nearly 20 years since the last study was done, and we need current data to ensure we meet the actual housing needs of Hawaiian families," said Jobie Masagatani, chair of the Hawaiian Homes Commission. "We appreciate the support of HUD, as well as the support of Congress to make this study happen." In 2011, Sen. Daniel K. Inouye added an appropriation to fund

these face-to-face household interviews. There will be 2,400 Native Hawaiians on DHHL residential waitlists who will be randomly selected and invited to participate in the study, with the goal of having 500 individuals agree to participate. Participants who complete the 45-minute interviews

will receive $25 for their time. Anyone who receives an invitation is urged to participate. Another portion of the Native Hawaiian assessment involves discussions with loeal housing providers and stakeholders. These include leaders of Hawaiian homestead associations,

nonprofits, housing advocacy groups, social service organizations, Native Hawaiian organi-

zations, as well as officials and staff from DHHL and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. HUD's study will consider housing conditions and other socioeconomic situations to give a broader context to housing needs of Native Americans, Alaska Natives andNative Hawaiians. The study is expected to provide a critical meehanism to communicate the ongoing need in native communities across the U.S. for better quality housing, helping to ensure that adequate resources are available to meet this need in the future. NORC at the University of Chicago, one of the organizations contracted by HUD to conduct this study, is also recruiting loeal interviewers to conduct the household surveys. For more information on how to heeome an interviewer for this survey, visit NORC's website at www.norc.org. ■

Starting in June, 500 homesteaders will be interviewed in face-to-face surveys for a federal study on the housing needs of native communities. This 201 1 picture shows a newly eompleted home in the Kānehili Hawaiian Homes subdivision in Kapolei. - Courtesy: DHHL