This Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’re proud to highlight the work of Report for America corps member Yiming Fu of AsAm News. In wildfire response and news coverage, communities closest to the issue are often overlooked. Since 2024, Fu has embedded himself in local communities, specifically the Lahaina community, and has provided nuanced and culturally sensitive reporting about how the island is navigating the recovery process. 

In August 2023, a series of wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, destroyed thousands of buildings, mostly multi-generational homes, becoming the deadliest U.S. wildfires in the past 100 years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Maui has been working towards rebuilding its community since the wildfires devastated the island. While fighting to preserve their culture and environment, many Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Filipino communities are also confronting socioeconomic challenges in the wake of the disaster.

Maui coalition demands disaster recovery funds in Washington D.C.

Many residents in the town of Lahaina struggled financially a year after the fires destroyed their homes and impacted their incomes. Many were relying on rent assistance from insurance policies that were quickly running out. A community-led coalition came together to demand Community Development Block Grant Disaster Relief funds (CDBG-DR) from the federal government in order to aid recovery and stay on the island. Multiple outlets covered this story using politicians as their sources, but Fu spoke directly to the organizers for their input, highlighting the voices of Filipino working-class immigrant communities.

Community shuts down proposed Lahaina Well

Along with the challenges of rebuilding homes and infrastructure in Lahaina, the community has also been battling a water crisis. The town is experiencing a water shortage due to a water management system that directs 77% of Maui’s water to private developers and leaves 23% for Maui’s residents. Fu recently covered a community meeting amplifying the grievances of over 100 community members about water allocation. He shared the stories of multiple residents’ challenges with water, including one farmer whose native Kalo plants were rotted or died due to a lack of water.
  

Meet the “therapinays” tackling Maui’s post-fire mental health needs

Many Filipinos on Maui don’t feel comfortable with Western mental health practices. In the aftermath of the fires, a wave of mainland mental health care providers came to provide services, alienating many locals with their approach. Fu reported on a team of three licensed “therapinays” who organized to provide therapy for and by Filipinos. “It’s relationships,” therapinay Kassell Taeza-Vincent said. “It’s building safety. Each person doesn’t have to lock into their trauma by themselves and carry that. Especially Filipinos, we’re a collective group, we don’t do things individually, we help one another.”