Two Months Later, Red Cross Still Helping in Hawaii

American Red Cross volunteer comforts Elaine Goode at the Red Cross shelter at the War Memorial Gymnasium in Wailuku on Maui

1 of 3

American Red Cross volunteer Ned Worman comforts Elaine Goode at the Red Cross shelter at the War Memorial Gymnasium in Wailuku on Maui. Goode lost everything when a wildfire destroyed her home in Lahaina. The Hawaii wildfires are the deadliest fires in the United States in more than 100 years. It destroyed as many as 2,200 structures, most of which were homes, leaving thousands of residents without somewhere to live. (Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross.)

A man chokes up while talking to an American Red Cross staff member

2 of 3

Edwin Heilscher chokes up while telling American Red Cross staff member Doyle Rader how he, his wife, son and his neighbor escaped the deadly wildfire that destroyed Lahaina on the island of Maui. The deadliest wildfire in the last century, thousands of people have lost everything they held dear. (Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross.)

A family speaks with Red Cross staff members at an emergency shelter

3 of 3

Arthur Valencia, his wife, Tara, and their three children, Maele, Gabriel and Mia speak with Red Cross staff members Doyle Rader, Shari Frank and Ned Worman at an emergency shelter at the War Memorial Gymnasium in Wailuku on Maui. The Valencias drove through the flames to escape the tragic fire in Lahaina. (Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross.)

October 18, 2023

It’s been more than two months since lives were changed forever on Maui after the tragic wildfires devastated the island. The American Red Cross is still there, helping to care for some 6,870 people impacted by the fires, and will continue to help in the weeks and months to come as people try to get back on their feet.

Reports indicate that over 3,710 homes were either destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by the wildfires.

RED CROSS RESPONSE As many as 370 Red Crossers are working 24/7 both in person and virtually to make sure people have the support they need. This includes hotel lodgings, food, emotional support and cash assistance, all made possible by our supporters and their generous financial donations.

As of Tuesday night, there were a total of 2,753 households, representing more than 6,870 people and 157 animals, being cared for in several dozen hotels. The Red Cross is making sure each family has nutritious meals three times a day, and health and mental health responders are onsite daily and available through a 24/7 phone number. The Red Cross is also working with community partners to provide access to recovery resources and additional support people may need.

To provide further support to affected families, the Red Cross has provided two different rounds of financial assistance for those who need help recovering and whose primary residences were destroyed or sustained eligible structural damage due to the wildfires. This assistance allows people to make their own decisions and prioritize what their family needs most to start recovering. For example, funds can help families replace clothes or food, offset transportation costs, or cover other immediate needs like replacing a CPAP machine. Additionally, the Red Cross has provided financial assistance to some of the most significantly impacted survivors, supporting those who lost family members as they grieve.

The Red Cross is grateful to the generosity of donors from across the country and around the world who have helped make this financial assistance possible for the people of Hawaii.

All Red Cross services, including financial assistance, are available to individuals regardless of nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. The Red Cross is a charity, not a government agency and people do not need to be American citizens to receive our help. Red Cross financial assistance is not a loan and does not need to be repaid.

YOU CAN HELP people affected by disasters like storms, wildfires and countless other crises by making a gift to Red Cross Disaster Relief. Financial contributions enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 800-RED CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Our volunteers are at the heart of our mission and represent 90% of our workforce. Visit redcross.org/volunteertoday to sign up for opportunities with your local chapter. Our most-needed disaster positions include supporting shelters and providing health services.

Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) Through the generosity of our American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder members, the American Red Cross is prepared before disaster strikes. ADGP and Disaster Responder members help secure a reliable funding base for disaster relief services that enables the Red Cross to respond immediately, meeting the needs of individuals and families affected by disaster, regardless of cost.

ADGP $1M Members: Amazon; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Best Buy; Caterpillar Foundation; Costco Wholesale ; Delta Air Lines; Elevance Health Foundation; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; McDonald’s Corporation; Microsoft Corp.; Nationwide Foundation; PayPal; PetSmart Charities; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; State Farm; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo

ADGP $500k Members: Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Bread Financial; Capital One; CarMax; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; Dollar General; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Motor Company Fund; Fox Corporation; General Motors; Google.org; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; International Paper; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; Kaiser Permanente; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Mastercard; Merck; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; PepsiCo Foundation; Salesforce; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, home of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation

Disaster Responder Members: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; The AES Corporation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation Barclays; Big 5 Sporting Goods; Build-A-Bear Foundation; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Choice Hotels International; Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; DHL Supply Chain; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Duke Energy; Dutch Bros Foundation; Equitable; FirstEnergy Corporation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo Foundation; LHC Group; LKQ; Macy’s, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Marathon Petroleum Foundation, Inc.; Martin Marietta; Mattress Firm; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; The Middleby Corporation; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Northrop Grumman; Northwestern Mutual; Old Dominion Freight Line; Organon; Pacific Life Foundation; Prudential; Raytheon Technologies; Reckitt; Rodan + Fields Prescription for Change Project, a project of New Venture Fund; Ross Stores Foundation; Ryder System, Inc.; Santander; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Tata Consultancy Services; U-Haul International; Zurich

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.