Krizhna Bayudan and her father Rizal Bayudan are pictured on their property in Lahaina. The Bayudans are in the process of rebuilding and are awaiting permit approvals.

Lahaina resident Krizhna Bayudan traveled to the nation’s capital this past weekend to help advocate for more funding to rebuild her hometown.

In an effort to raise awareness about Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery, or CDBG-DR, funding, she and others made the trip to Washington, D.C., as part of the disaster survivors delegation.

She said enduring the cold December air has been worth it.

“Securing CDBG-DR funding would be a game-changer for Lahaina’s long-term recovery. Many of us think FEMA is the only support we’ll get, but there are other federal resources available to help us rebuild over time,” she said. “Eventually, FEMA will leave, and we’ll be left to pick up the pieces. CDBG-DR funding would not only support housing developments but also much-needed infrastructure rebuilding.”

Bayudan is part of a Maui coalition of the Hawaiʻi Workers Center, where they are advocating for long-term disaster recovery funding alongside Organizing Resilience’s coalition, which consists of community members from disaster-affected areas such as North Carolina, Florida and Texas.

The Hawaiʻi coalition includes the Hawaiʻi Workers Center, Roots Reborn, Kaibigan Ng Lahaina, Lahaina Strong and Tagnawa for Maui.

Bayudan said the funding is crucial to helping Lahaina rebuild.

“This funding could provide larger pools of money for rent assistance, benefiting both pre-fire renters and homeowners,” she said. “As a fire survivor, I’ve experienced the challenges of applying for assistance — waiting in uncertainty, struggling to cover expenses that should have been covered. My family’s rent assistance from insurance is running out, and we’re bracing for another grueling application process with no guarantees. I hope CDBG-DR funds will make this process smoother and provide the critical support families like mine need to rebuild and move forward.”

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Marion McFadden said the issue lies within finding permanent funding for this type of Department of Housing and Urban Development relief.

“Unlike FEMA or the Small Business Administration or some of the other federal agencies, HUD doesn’t have permanent funding and programs for long-term disaster recovery,” McFadden said.

Recently, President Joe Biden called upon Congress to secure permanent funding for disaster recovery, McFadden said, but that initiative has not passed — yet.

The total amount requested for the effort is $12 billion, McFadden said. Congress, over time, has given the HUD program for relief efforts more than $99.9 billion.

“We’re saying, ‘Let’s take the guesswork out of this and make it a permanent program,'” McFadden said.

One of the downsides to not having permanent funding, McFadden said, is that HUD doesn’t have regulations to govern what happens when Congress makes the money available. And right now, there’s no money being made available for disaster recovery areas such as Lahaina.

“So, there’s zero dollars at HUD right now for long-term disaster recovery,” she said. “That’s why the administration has been advocating for funding.”

Hawai’i Sen. Brian Schatz has been outspoken about making the program permanent, working on a bipartisan basis with Sen. Susan Collins, who is a Republican from Maine.

A couple weeks ago, Schatz gave a compelling speech during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing about the need for the CDBG-DR funding.

“A very small, discrete, compact town was 100% leveled — incinerated — in a matter of hours and more than 100 people died, and we are dealing with the consequences going forward,” he said.

“One home rebuilt. One hundred and sixteen permits issued. Over the last 15 months, 60% of the survivors have moved at least three times; 20% of the survivors have moved five times. The problem is housing,” he added.

“The problem is housing and the way to rebuild a community is CDBG-DR,” he said.

McFadden hopes an effort like this can rise above politics.

“All of the money we’ve gotten has had bipartisan votes,” McFadden said. “Members on both sides of the aisle and independents support disaster recovery.”

“Years ago people would say there’s no politics after a disaster,” McFadden added.

One of the benefits of CDBG-DR funds is they are handed out on a local level.

“They are very flexible. As long as they’re not duplicated by a cost that is already being paid for by FEMA for example, they can be used for rehabilitation of homes and infrastructure, new construction, enhancement of existing infrastructure, economic development and economic development assistance, planning,” she said.

After Congress provides an allocation, HUD then gives the power to local authorities to distribute the money.

“Whoever receives the funding, whether it’s the state or the county, would then do a community plan, which would include at least one hearing and letting people give feedback.”

McFadden said the issue isn’t how the funds will be used, it’s there’s been no allocation for funding at this point.

“It’s not that it’s in jeopardy; it’s that it doesn’t exist,” she said. “But I think we’re ‘this close.’ I think the signs are pointing toward Congress being ready to make an appropriation.”

These grants have been used in Hawai’i before to help after the Kilauea eruption and Kauai County flooding, as well as in almost every state across the country.

“The funds have reached far and wide,” McFadden said. “Fires, hurricanes, other flooding, volcano eruptions, tornadoes and, in fact, even 9/11.”

They are also working on special funds now for the RUSH program, Rapid Unsheltered Survivor Housing, which provides money for people who were experiencing homelessness or were at risk for homelessness before the disaster.

“This is to provide funding for rapid rehousing and other housing-related needs,” McFadden said.

Hawai’i received $1.3 million last year for the RUSH program, and a second allocation of $6.9 million this year.

Currently, Maui County has a Community Development Block Grant Program Office, which has been seeking public feedback for a consolidated plan to identify community needs and provides a five-year strategy for how CDBG grants will be used.

According to the county website, Maui County anticipates receiving an allocation of $1.87 million in CDBG funds for Program Year 2025.

Patience Kahula, CDBG-DR Program Manager, said currently Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen and his administration is engaging with Congressional leaders to advocate for a supplemental CDBG-DR appropriation to fund the substantial unmet needs of Maui’s August 2023 Wildfires.

She said if CDBG-DR funds are not allocated, then Maui County will have to pivot.

“Our community will need to adapt by seeking alternative funding sources, build advocacy for federal support and utilize resources from local government, nonprofits and businesses,” she said.

She added: “The reality is that the needs of the 2023 Maui wildfire survivors remain unmet. The Bissen administration will continue to seek the support of Congressional leaders and House Representatives to pass a substantial CDBG-DR appropriation to fund the critical, long-term recovery needs of our community.”

Effective since Jan. 1, 1974, the Community Development Block Grant Program is one of the oldest programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is the Federal Government’s primary program for promoting community revitalization throughout the country.

The primary objective of the CDBG Program is the development of viable communities by promoting integrated approaches that provide decent housing, a suitable living environment and expand economic opportunities, principally for persons of low- and moderate-income.

For more information, visit mauicounty.gov/140/Community-Development-Block-Grant.