The deadliest U.S. fire in more than a hundred years displaced thousands. Now, the Family Life Center, a nonprofit whose 40-year-old mission is to stabilize Hawaiians in time of need is getting to work to help all those in need.
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00:00 Maui was already a difficult place to find housing and then that deadly fire ripped through
00:05 Lahaina displacing thousands of people.
00:08 But one organization stepped up right away to find a more long-term housing solution
00:12 as fast as possible.
00:14 Maude Cumming has worked to help put roofs over heads on Maui for decades and she remembers
00:18 the moment two weeks ago when she realized the scope of the loss in Lahaina.
00:23 It's just unbelievable.
00:24 It's hard to wrap your mind around.
00:26 The deadliest U.S. fire in more than 100 years displaced thousands.
00:30 As CEO of the Family Life Center, a non-profit whose 40-year-old mission is to stabilize
00:34 Hawaiians in time of need, Cumming's team got to work.
00:38 I was shocked at what I started to see but then so immediately the day after the fire
00:45 we started planning and thinking about what could we do, how could we respond and we knew
00:50 that we had to, our response had to be quick.
00:53 They realized plans in place wouldn't fill the need and found this product helped in
00:57 other places with disaster.
00:59 We set up a refugee camp in Ukraine.
01:01 We did a mobile medical aid station in Uganda and so they said if you can similarly deploy
01:07 a rapid solution to Hawaii, we'd love to have you.
01:09 The structure is from Hungary-based company Kontonis, can break down to less than two
01:13 feet tall and can stack on top of each other.
01:16 It takes between three to five minutes to set up the foldable shelters with just a few
01:20 people and a forklift.
01:21 Plus they could get units to this island quickly.
01:25 For the past week we've pulled every favor under the sun, including a heavy airlift out
01:29 of Hungary to get the units here on a NATO plane.
01:33 So this has been a massive lift with a lot of moving parts but so many people have stepped
01:38 forward to help so it's been an incredible effort.
01:41 The units can be placed side by side to make larger spaces for families.
01:44 Cumming hopes to have people moving in by the end of next month.
01:47 Everyone who is impacted deserves a house but we wanted something we can erect quickly
01:53 but still have all the amenities of a home.
01:55 Each unit will have its own bathroom and kitchen.
01:58 A company called Revolutsun from Oahu donated solar panels and batteries with the hopes
02:02 this will be a totally off-grid project.
02:05 The units will sit on land being leased from King's Cathedral Church.
02:09 The next challenge is getting a more permanent water source and sewer but they're working
02:13 on it by the day.
02:14 Two weeks ago I could never have imagined that two weeks later we would be doing something
02:22 of this scope and this magnitude and I'm just amazed at how it has come together.
02:29 I think this serves as a model and sort of a beacon of hope that people are moving as
02:33 fast as humanly possible to provide aid to people that need it.
02:37 And they know once displaced families find more permanent housing solutions, these units
02:42 can be used as transitional housing for other unhoused people.
02:45 They can always be used no matter what the situation.
02:49 Maritza Giorgio, Scripps News, Maui.