Family Promise of Hawaiʻi Launches First-in-the-Nation Housing Scholarships

HONOLULU, October 15, 2026 – Family Promise of Hawaiʻi officially launched its Housing Scholarships, a first-in-the-nation approach to ending family homelessness, at a press conference at the Kukui Center in Honolulu.

Housing Scholarships are designed for families with children who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness on Oʻahu and Maui. Each family receives a housing subsidy to stabilize or secure housing, along with one-on-one coaching on employment, workforce development, personal finance, and life skills. Families graduate into permanent housing they can sustain on their own. The model builds on Family Promise’s more than 20 years of experience housing families.

How It Works

Families begin by filling out the form at familypromise.help or by asking an organization they work with for a referral. Once eligibility is confirmed, each family works with a case manager on goals they choose and receives help with costs such as rent, back rent, security deposits, and utilities for a few months up to a year, depending on need. After the scholarship ends, follow-up support remains available.

Families with children who are at risk of losing their housing or already experiencing homelessness are eligible, including two-parent families, single parents, pregnant mothers, grandparents raising grandchildren, and multigenerational households.

Why It Matters

Each month, Family Promise of Hawaiʻi hears from about 150 new families looking for help. Young children face a higher risk of homelessness than people of any other age, and a stable home during those early years shapes the rest of their lives. Housing Scholarships are designed to grow to meet that need.

How to Support

Individuals and companies can support Housing Scholarships through a donation, sponsorship, or grant, and named and endowed scholarships are also available. Funding opportunities begin at $10,000, which covers a short-term scholarship of about three months of housing support plus coaching and case management. To talk about funding a scholarship, contact Elliot Woods, Director of Advancement, at elliot@familypromisehawaii.org or 808-300-0568.

About Family Promise of Hawaiʻi

Founded in 2005, Family Promise of Hawaiʻi is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to transform the lives of families with children in Hawaiʻi facing homelessness by providing housing, resources, and support. Learn more at familypromisehawaii.org.