Skip to main content

Crisis Alert: We are responding to Hurricane Helene

Suggested Content

Hawaii Wildfires

STATUS: Active Recovery

DATE: August 2023

REGION: Hawaii

Deadly Wildfires

“A lot of the survivors had to leave their homes very quickly and did not have an opportunity to get anything or take anything with them and many have lost everything,” said Mariel Fonteyn, Americares director of U.S. emergency response.

Devastating wildfires, spurred by dry conditions and strong winds in the aftermath of Hurricane Dora, swept through the Hawaiian Islands, killing 97 people, causing major destruction and displacing thousands across Maui, the Big Island, and Lahaina. The Maui wildfires that consumed the community of Lahaina are the deadliest in the U.S in more than 100 years according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Much of historic downtown Lahaina was reduced to ash. Approximately 2,200 structures were destroyed or damaged in Maui, most of them residential. Lahaina holds over 1,000 years of historical and cultural significance to the Hawaiian people. The depth of the loss is unimaginable. President Joe Biden approved an emergency disaster declaration, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide support and federal funding for the recovery.

In the first year after the wildfires, Americares supported eight local organizations with medicine, supplies, emergency funding or technical assistance. Our support includes a portable clinic, mental health services and training as well as medicine and medical supplies.

Our teams continue to work with local partners to meet evolving needs as communities recover from the devastating fires.

Updated 8.2.24

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows a person walking down Front Street past destroyed buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii, that began on August 8. Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Americares immediately deployed emergency teams to Hawaii to assess the needs of local health care facilities, coordinate emergency shipments of medicine and relief supplies and work with local and national organizations responding to the crisis.

The team visited a number of facilities including a shelter and family assistance center, a clinic, and a medical “hub” where multiple local clinics and pharmacies are currently operating.

Due to the Lahaina community’s deep trauma and need to mourn and heal in accordance with their own traditions, Americares was committed to approaching this response with a deep respect for local customs, striving to ensure that all of our outreach, consultations, needs assessments and aid were adapted to the local context. Some of the funding we provided was for clinics that incorporated traditional Hawaiian healing practices, making health care as approachable as possible to local community members.

Mental Health

Mental health issues frequently arise following a disaster as survivors cope with loss, displacement and other traumas that often exacerbate any underlying health issues. Americares deployed specialized mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) staff to provide services to survivors, including local medical professionals.

Americares mental health specialists worked with Maui Behavioral Health Resources to create and provide trainings to the organization’s staff who were experiencing a sudden increase in people needing support services. The team also trained and provided resources for a “warm line” to provide individuals with mental health information or a person to talk with. Americares also supported Community Clinic of Maui Malama Ke Ola Health Center, which lost one of its locations in the fire, by meeting weekly with staff to provide individual and group emotional care support. With the Maui AIDS Foundation, Americares mental health team established mental health interventions and trainings that could be shared with staff. Within weeks of the fires, the mental health team had reached 151 health care professionals through group and individual support sessions.

Working with Partners

Americares swiftly responded to requests for medical supplies, including hygiene kits, AEDs, IV start kits, medical supplies and respiratory medication such as albuterol sulfate mist inhalers, that were delivered to the Hawaii Island Community Health Center and Project Vision Hawaii.

Staff member in blue sweatshirt operating forklift to ready relief supply shipment for Hawaii. Four palettes of supplies are set in a row. — Staff prepare a shipment of relief supplies for Hawaii at Americares Global Distribution Center in Stamford, Conn.

In addition to delivering supplies and providing mental health support, Americares also approved emergency funding to local organizations working to meet community needs. Partners used the funds to respond to the urgent medical needs of community members, particularly those who experienced trauma and loss when the fires suddenly swept through the community. Many survivors fled so quickly they left their belongings and medications behind, and thousands were left homeless, struggling to access medical care after the fires damaged local health facilities.

From left to right: Betsy Warfield, Senior Director, EP Systems and Global Readiness, Martha Kennard, Deputy SVP, Gift in Kind Operations, Augistina Boehringer, and Wes Comfort of Heart to Heart International stand in front of a portable clinic at Heart to Heart’s international headquarters in Lenexa Kansas. Americares and Heart to Heart International donated the portable clinic to Project Vision Hawaii to provide medical care to unhoused populations and those displaced by the Maui wildfires .

With Americares support:

West Hawaii Community Health Center provided urgent medical services to people affected by the wildfires in Lahaina, Kihei, and Kula. It partnered with the State Department of Health, Waianae Coast Comprehensive, and Community Clinic of Maui Malama Ke Ola Health Center to provide daily care since the fires began. These health centers deployed a team of five consisting of a behavioral health specialist, licensed doctor, registered nurse, medical assistant, community health worker and patient navigator to provide wound care, respiratory assessments, and referrals for patients.
Information Technology Disaster Resource Center procured and distributed hand-held radios to clinics, community response teams, and outreach teams.
Community Clinic of Maui Malama Ke Ola Health Center purchased resources for a mobile medical unit to operate in Lahaina.
Aloha House, a behavioral health organization in Maui whose mission is to promote recovery and healthy lifestyles, received an influx of phone calls from individuals who wanted to speak with someone while also noting a drop of phone calls from adults trying to access substance abuse resources. This grant funded a dedicated line for phone calls to at-risk individuals impacted by the fires.
Maui AIDS Foundation sent medical mobile units to reach residents who had lost access to health facilities because of the fire. The mobile medical unit provided mental health counseling, wound care, eye and dental care and services for adults and children as well as food items and bus passes for transportation to free clinics. The Foundation also purchased air monitors and protective gear to protect patients and staff from contaminants in ash and hired a patient navigator to help with the increased patient load.
In addition, support has been provided for Hospice Maui.
Americares also provided shipments of hygiene items and other medical supplies to Project Vision and West Hawaii Community Health Center.

Health Care Where It’s Needed

Americares partnered with Heart to Heart International to donate a modular medical clinic to Project Vision Hawaii, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to providing health care to individuals experiencing homelessness. Many people in Maui living without a home are older; 71 percent of the clinic’s patients are 55 years or older.

The clinic opened on December 5 and, by May, had supported more than 1,100 patient visits. Staffed by a rotating team of volunteer nurses, nurse practitioners, doctors, mental health specialists, and traditional healing practitioners from Project Vision Hawaii, the clinic provides wound care for burn victims, primary care and mental health support for those who are still displaced as well as unhoused individuals at a temporary shelter in Pu‘uhonua o Nēnē. The clinic also provides traditional Hawaiian healing practices. READ MORE about the clinic in Maui

The Recovery

In the coming months, Americares will continue aiding in the recovery of families and individuals in Lahaina. We are working closely with several partner organizations there to respond to exactly what they need to foster effective and culturally sensitive healing and resilience for those who have lost so much—their homes, their cars, their workplaces, parks, schools, and community spaces.

” For so many on the Maui AIDS
Foundation staff and those we serve, this was like a life ring. You brought the Maui community hope, health and the light towards healing and a
better future during a time when so many struggled so deeply, and still do.”
Cory Michelle Hall, former Director of Development and Communications, Maui AIDS Foundation

Please Give Now to Help the People of Hawaii

” “It’s not just about treating physical wounds, but also about restoring a sense of normalcy. And most importantly, it is about helping survivors take the first crucial steps towards recovery. This recovery will unfortunately take years,”
Mariel Fonteyn

americares work globally

Health Makes Everything Possible

Our Impact with Your Giving Dollar

Generous donors make all our achievements possible. We are able to respond to more disasters, expand our health programs and save more lives because of the individuals, foundations and corporations that trust Americares to improve the lives of people in the United States and around the world.

More than 98% of our resources support health programs.
Americares efficiency with your charitable dollar is one reason that we’re trusted by donors and consistently receive high marks from charity evaluators.