The Maui News

Department of Hawaiian Home Lands offices on Maui and Molokai will reopen for in-person visits by appointment only beginning Wednesday.

Beneficiaries seeking transfers, successorships or other services are asked to call their respective island offices in advance to schedule an appointment.

Walk-in payments and deliveries also will be accepted beginning Wednesday. Office hours are 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

“We are pleased to return to in-person services again,” said Hawaiian Homes Commission Chairman William J. Aila Jr. “We’ve taken precautionary sanitation and social distancing steps in all of our offices in the interest of the health and safety of those we serve as well as our staff.”

DHHL closed its doors March 17 as the state faced the threat of COVID-19. Limited services have remained operational with some in-office staff and through staff teleworking arrangements.

Beneficiaries visiting the department should expect noticeable changes along with the requirement of wearing a face covering and the practice of social distancing in coordination with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

During the state’s stay-at-home order, the department implemented several efforts to provide relief to beneficiaries, including the implementation of a rental relief program for those on the department’s waiting list and the deferral of mortgage payments for those with department-issued direct loans. Rental relief options for qualified lessees, licensees and permittee tenants on lands managed by DHHL also were approved by the Hawaiian Homes Commission. The above relief options remain available to those impacted by COVID-19.

To make an appointment for service or to learn more about DHHL’s COVID-19 relief efforts and other information related to the department’s COVID-19 operations, visit dhhl.hawaii.gov/covid-19.

The Maui District office is located at 655 Kaumualii St., Suite 1 in Wailuku. The phone number is 760-5120. The Molokai District office can be reached at (808) 560-6104.