Aftermath of the Maui Wildfires: Update from the Maui Deaf Community

As we know the wildfires happened on Maui island and we posted a video with several interviews with a few Deaf community members from Maui. We posted that video on August 11th. Now, it has been a little bit over a week since the interview video was posted, here are a few updates based on the information we collected from the people we interviewed.

We checked in with Vesta Morris, the president of the non-profit organization Maui Deaf Friends, to share some information with us.

This is what she shared- first, she mentioned that based on her knowledge, five Deaf survivors have been found and they are still very shocked. They will need time to heal slowly. There are still more Deaf people that have not been found, and she is asking people to respect their families as they go through grief.

Vesta mentioned that a Deaf person from FEMA flew into Maui to work with the Deaf survivors. This Deaf person’s name is Aaron Kubey. He has been in Maui for the past few days, and Honolulu news (from Oahu island) featured a story about Aaron working with the Deaf survivors.

We will show a short snippet from their Instagram account that was posted two days ago.

[video - @staradvertiser]

We posted a link to their full video in this transcript. We reached out to Aaron Kubey with a few questions, we will show you some parts of his response. We first asked him what is FEMA’s plan with the Deaf community in Maui. This is what he said:

“Our plan is to ensure that the Maui Deaf/Hard of Hearing community is also receiving information in ASL and have equitable access to assistance for their recovery, and we will be with them throughout their recovery. We will not abandon them.”

The second question we asked was if FEMA knows how many reported Deaf survivors altogether. This is his response:

“All I can say is that we have had several Deaf survivors register with FEMA, and we will continue to do more community outreach to make sure that those who have not yet registered for federal assistance have the opportunity to do so.”

The last question we asked was if there was anything that Aaron would like for the Deaf community to know:

“We would like the D/HH community on Maui (and the other islands) to know that FEMA is here to support survivors with their recovery, and that is our only mission. We also are doing all we can to make sure that we are leading with humility as we work to meet the community’s needs, while respecting their history. We are with them for the long haul. In addition to providing equal access to the information for the D/HH community, we are also ensuring that we reach all residents of Hawaii in their preferred method of communication, including foreign and native languages.”

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We have added his full responses to us within the transcript if you want to know more. We thank Aaron for his time.

We also checked in with Gary Hall, a Deaf community member, to see what his updates are and he said that he is looking forward for the donations to arrive so they can be distributed to the Deaf people in need. He also said that the challenge now is to get the Deaf survivors to regain access to their land on the Lahaina side.

There is also a Facebook page named Maui Deaf Friends that you can keep yourself updated from that page. On that page, we saw photos of Dr. Angel Ramos, the principal (functions the same as a superintendent), of Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind (HSDB) flew from Ohau to Maui to help out. He and his wife brought in donations for the Deaf survivors.

We added a link to that Facebook page in this transcript so you can see the updates too. The other thing that Vesta mentioned to us is that Maui Deaf Friends also has a GoFundMe page. They have raised a little over $24,000, and you can still make donations to support them. The link is in the transcript as well.

That is the update that we have collected so far.

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Email responses from Aaron Kubey, FEMA representative

We are actively doing community outreach while I’m here (and I will be here for a while). We joined a community meeting on August 17th hosted by Maui Deaf Friends, and brought our Disaster Survivor Assistance teams to help them register for federal assistance through FEMA. Several community members have registered or followed up on their registration with these team members.

We are focused on incorporating local interpreters from Hawaii, including Deaf Interpreters as per the community’s requests. It is always our intention to use local interpreters whenever possible as they are trusted members of the community, and they are familiar with the local dialects/names/etc. These interpreters will be available as needed by the community for registration appointments, home inspections, town halls, etc. I will also be available to support them as needed.

Our plan is to ensure that the Maui Deaf/Hard of Hearing community is also receiving information in ASL and have equitable access to assistance for their recovery, and we will be with them throughout their recovery. We will not abandon them.

All I can say is that we have had several Deaf survivors register with FEMA, and we will continue to do more community outreach to make sure that those who have not yet registered for federal assistance have the opportunity to do so.

We would like the D/HH community on Maui (and the other islands) to know that FEMA is here to support survivors with their recovery, and that is our only mission. We also are doing all we can to make sure that we are leading with humility as we work to meet the community’s needs, while respecting their history. We are with them for the long haul. In addition to providing equal access to the information for the D/HH community, we are also ensuring that we reach all residents of Hawaii in their preferred method of communication, including foreign and native languages.
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To donate- link to the GoFundMe
https://www.facebook.com/groups/272682839568972