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Applications opened Monday for Maui United Way’s Kamaʻāina Credit for ALICE Households Pilot Program, which will provide monthly financial assistance to approximately 910 eligible households across Maui County for one year.
Funded by the county and advanced by Maui County Council member Gabe Johnson, the program is designed to help working households achieve greater financial stability while gathering information about the financial pressures facing residents who may not qualify for traditional assistance programs.
Selected households will receive $500 per month for households of one to three people and $800 per month for households of four or more people over 12 months. The financial assistance is not a loan and does not need to be repaid.
Applications will be accepted through Nov. 20. The application is free and available at muwalicecredit.aidkit.org/o/home.
Prospective applicants are encouraged to review the program’s household income eligibility brackets, earned-income requirements and other criteria before applying.
"I know what it feels like to be a part of ALICE because I lived it," said Jeeyun Lee, CEO of Maui United Way. "For nine years, I was a single parent, working and raising my son, and one unexpected expense would throw everything off balance and create so much more stress in our lives. This pilot is about giving working households greater stability while listening to their experiences and learning what it truly takes to move from getting by, to building lasting financial resilience."
ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. The designation refers to households that earn above the federal poverty level but struggle to cover basic necessities, including housing, food, child care and transportation.
Many of these households earn too much to qualify for traditional income-based assistance programs but not enough to consistently meet the cost of living in Hawaii. According to Aloha United Way, 53% of Maui County households were below the ALICE threshold, including 43% classified as ALICE and 10% living in poverty.
The pilot program is intended to give working households additional financial resources to manage everyday expenses and unexpected challenges.
Along with monthly financial assistance, participants will have access to a team of 12 full-time care coordinators through Maui United Way’s partnerships with Imua Family Services and Maui Grassroots Collective.
The coordinators will provide individualized support and connect participants with existing community resources throughout the 12-month program.
Through generally once-monthly check-ins, care coordinators will assess household needs, provide referrals to local services when appropriate and assist with short monthly surveys. The check-ins will be offered remotely or in person, depending on each household’s preferences and circumstances.
"Every day, we see hardworking people across Maui County doing everything they can to support their families and contribute to our local economy yet struggling to stay afloat. My own family is an excellent example. Like many families, we have a multi-generational household, and I live with my daughter, her husband and my two grandchildren. By working and living together, we were finally able to purchase our own home together, but it takes three full-time incomes to afford one home," said Stacey Moniz, director of the YWCA Maui Women’s Business Center.
To qualify, applicants must be at least 21 years old, reside permanently and full time in Maui County -- including Maui, Molokai and Lanai -- and meet the program’s household income and other eligibility requirements.
Households also must include at least one person who is employed or has qualifying earned income. Working or experiencing financial hardship does not automatically qualify a household for the program.
Applicants should gather a current government-issued ID, documentation of total household income for 2025, including income documentation for all household earners, and proof of their Maui County address.
They also will need access to a phone or computer with a camera for identity verification. Additional documentation may be requested during the review process.
Applications will be available in English, Spanish, Ilocano, Tagalog and Marshallese, with audio support and additional assistance available.
Maui United Way also plans to offer in-person application support events across Maui County. A schedule is available at bit.ly/ALICESupportEvents.
Maui United Way oversees the county grant and approves eligibility and selection criteria, while AidKit administers the application, eligibility verification and selection process.
After applications close, recipients will be chosen through a computer-generated, stratified random selection process designed to maintain representation across approved household and community-need groups.
The program is not first-come, first-served, and meeting eligibility requirements does not guarantee selection. Maui United Way does not select the recipients.
In addition to providing financial assistance, the yearlong pilot will study the challenges facing working households and how additional resources may affect their financial stability.
Participants will complete short monthly surveys describing changes in their needs and financial circumstances.
An additional 400 eligible households will be randomly selected for a comparison group. Those households will not receive monthly Kamaʻāina Credit payments but will be invited to complete surveys and receive cash gift cards for participating.
Feedback from both groups will help Maui United Way evaluate the effects of financial assistance on household stability, identify gaps in existing resources and better understand the pressures facing working families.
The findings are intended to inform future programs and policy decisions.
For program details and applications, visit muwalicecredit.aidkit.org/o/home. Eligibility information and frequently asked questions are available at muwalicecredit.aidkit.org/o/faqs.
Applicants who need assistance can email support@muwalicecredit.aidkit.org or call or text (808) 309-9756.