Hale O Mana‘o
Lana Hou
to expand
WAILUKU >> Construction began last week on a $1.7 million complex to expand housing on Maui for the mentally retarded and chronically mentally ill who are able to live independently.
The two-story apartment development with 15 one-bedroom units is being built next to the existing 11-unit complex at Hale O Mana'o Lana Hou, mauka of Maui Memorial Medical Center. Construction is expected to take a year.
The nonprofit Lokahi Pacific has been managing Hale O Mana'o Lana Hou and will be in charge of operating the expanded accommodations.
Lokahi Pacific official Alexa Betts Basinger said a number of the tenants who take medication to help them with their chronic illness have jobs. Chronic mental illness includes bipolar disorders and schizophrenia.
"The whole point is not to isolate them from society," she said. "The whole point is to have them participate in society."
Basinger said the complex, now serving 22 tenants, will accommodate an additional 15 people after the expansion. She said without the housing, many of the tenants would face being institutionalized or become homeless.
Basinger said the expansion will not be able to meet the housing needs of all of the mentally retarded and chronically mentally ill on Maui. Lokahi Pacific has 35 people on its waiting list for Hale O Mana'o Lana Hou.
Each one-bedroom unit, with 538 square feet of living space, includes a kitchen and bathroom, with the common area providing 15 paved parking stalls, a laundry and recreation areas.
Dugied Construction has been awarded the contract funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The property is owned by the Maui County with a 55-year lease to Lokahi Pacific.