Helen Wai knows exactly what people participating in the Home Ownership
Assistance Program (HOAP) are going through.
She, too, lived with her parents and wanted a homestead of her own, but knew
nothing about financial matters — until she went to the public library and
checked out every book on money she could find.
Now she’s got a house on Hawaiian Homelands and a job with the nonprofit
Hawaiian Community Assets, teaching HOAP classes all around the state. It’s her
way of helping beneficiaries get a homestead lease, and keep it.
And that’s key, because although beneficiaries must be 50 percent Hawaiian to
receive a lease, they can assign it to their children or other relatives who are
at least one-quarter Hawaiian.
It’s also important for beneficiaries to prove as much blood quantum as
possible, to ensure their children qualify for an assigned lease, says Wai, who
recently assigned her own lease to her daughter, then bought a house from the
homesteader who lives across the street.
Otherwise, “our kids will never be able to afford homes here.” “That kind of
story really motivates us,” says Shilo Pa, who recently was awarded a lease
after attending Wai’s HOAP class. “We’re looking for that. Go to a HOAP class.
It will change your spending life for sure.” The eight-hour classes cover
budgeting, building good credit, getting a mortgage loan, maintaining a home and
other topics, with Wai offering concrete tips on what people can do to improve
their financial situation.
“It’s not about telling them, it’s about empowering them,” she says. “There’s no
shame. I won’t judge you. And it’s free.” Workshops are scheduled for April 18
and 19, and again on June 4 and 5, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. in Lihue. Call
632-2070 to register.
