The moment Child Protective Services ripped her 4-year-old daughter from her arms six years ago because of her “;ice”; addiction, Waianae resident Emma Clark made a promise to herself and her children to get clean and find a permanent home for her family.

Clark entered a drug treatment program while a relative gained temporary custody of her daughter, Annie.

Kicking her drug habit allowed Clark to land a job as a sales associate at City Mill's Waianae store, and she regained custody of her child.

She recently learned of affordable rental units in a new building being built behind Waianae Mall on the Leeward Coast.

Clark applied.

Two weeks ago she received a call at work that her application was approved to live in a two-bedroom unit.

“;All that day I was like walking on air,”; she said.

“;This is a blessing for me and my kids,”; said Clark as she walked inside the model apartments for the first time yesterday. “;I love it.”;

A dedication ceremony was held yesterday for the first phase of Hale Wai Vista, a seven-story residential building with 83 affordable units. Guests included Gov. Linda Lingle and Mayor Mufi Hannemann. The project was made possible through a partnership between the city, state and private sector.

Along with the dedication of the $23.2 million project, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the second phase, a $35.6 million project that will include 132 units.

The rental units in the first phase are geared toward families who make between 30 and 50 percent of Honolulu's median income. That translates roughly to an income between $25,700 and $42,800 for a family of three, according to 2009 figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Units in the second phase, to be completed in two years, will target families with incomes at or below 60 percent of Honolulu's median income.

    Housing project opens in Waianae

 

 

A 215-unit, affordable rental housing project is a step forward in helping the neediest in our community.

 

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Monthly rent costs will range from $509 to $964 for the two- and three-bedroom units. State and federal tax credits will keep rent costs affordable for more than 60 years.

Clark recalled the fractured life she once had, bouncing from one family member's home to another for more than four years when she was immersed in her drug habit. At one point she became homeless, living on a beach past Keaau Beach Park and hiding her daughter from authorities.

Approaching her sixth anniversary in May of being clean and sober, Clark is living with her aunt in Waianae with her daughter, now 10, and 19-year-old son, Robert. Her new home, which is within walking distance from her job, will finally give her and her children what she has been longing for: a sense of stability.

“;After all these years I can't believe it,”; she said.