The Maui AIDS Foundation is warning Maui County leaders that its housing subsidies for people living with HIV could vanish if the federal budget proposed for fiscal 2027 is enacted. The Wailuku nonprofit says tenant-based and short‑term rental assistance for neighbor‑island residents depends heavily on a federal grant the White House has targeted for elimination. Foundation staff told council members they are scrambling for local and private funding to keep people housed.
President’s Budget Targets HOPWA
The administration’s FY2027 request proposes eliminating the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program, a move the White House budget document says would save about $529 million, according to the White House. The text specifically names grantees it criticizes and points to a 2023 HOPWA award to the Maui AIDS Foundation as an example. If adopted, the shift would move funding away from long‑term rental assistance toward time‑limited emergency programs.
Policy Groups Say The Change Will Shift Care
Housing analysts say erasing HOPWA would likely push medically vulnerable people into short‑term shelter and transitional programs rather than the kind of stable housing that is typically linked to better health outcomes. The Bipartisan Policy Center notes that the administration’s plan would consolidate homelessness assistance into an expanded Emergency Solutions Grant account as part of that strategy.
Local Leaders Sound The Alarm
Maui AIDS Foundation leaders told the County Council that losing HOPWA funding would be devastating. “This will literally put people out of homes,” Executive Director Linda Puppolo said, and housing director Daniel Southmayd said he “had to read it three times” when he first saw the budget, as reported by Civil Beat. Staff told the council the program is 100% reliant on the federal grant the administration seeks to end.
Federal Award Tied To MAF Work
The White House budget lists a 2023 HUD HOPWA award of $1.5 million to the Maui AIDS Foundation and uses that grant as an example while criticizing the program’s grantees. The White House is explicit about that recent award.
Who Would Be Hit In Maui
The foundation told council members that 52 of the 158 Hawai‘i residents it serves currently benefit from the housing program, and that HOPWA funding accounts for nearly a quarter of its total budget, according to Civil Beat. State surveillance data shows 497 cumulative diagnosed HIV cases in Maui County through 2022, underscoring the local scale of need, per the Hawaii Department of Health. Foundation staff warned that many clients live on very low fixed incomes and could face eviction without subsidies.
County Budget Talks Could Help But Won't Replace Federal Aid
Mayor Richard Bissen has proposed a roughly $1.6 billion FY2027 county budget that prioritizes housing and recovery and is now under review by the County Council. Maui County officials will consider grant requests during upcoming hearings as the foundation presses for local assistance. Local leaders have suggested modest additional support, but county funding would be unlikely to fully replace a national program like HOPWA.
What's Next
The President’s budget is a policy proposal and not law; final appropriations decisions are made by Congress. The Bipartisan Policy Center says advocates and local officials will need to press lawmakers as the appropriations process unfolds, and Maui AIDS Foundation staff say they will continue to seek county and private support to keep neighbors housed.
