‘People were coming in at all hours of the night.’
Posted: Updated August 12, 2023
On the night deadly wildfires raged through Lāhainā Tuesday threatening other portions of west Maui, a teacher from Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary School took in 15 evacuees from various Kīhei neighborhoods, many of them teachers.
Natalie Hoffert, a second-grade teacher at Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary School, lives in Kīhei and was in close contact with Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association UniServ Director Christopher Chang, who represents teachers at schools in Lāhainā, on other parts of Maui and on Molokaʻi.
When officials issued evacuation orders, Chang texted her the names and numbers of people looking for a place to stay. Hoffert didn’t hesitate to invite them into her home.
“We rent a house, and we took people in when they were getting evacuated from Kihei,” Hoffert, who shares a house with three other women, said. “We did have roughly 15 people in our house the first night (when) Maui Meadows got evacuated, Kīhei Villages, and north Kīhei.
“Anyone that needed help, I cold called and said, ‘Come on over. We have room.’ People were coming in at all hours of the night. At one point, we also had four dogs and a cat,” Hoffert said.
Hoffert said people slept on the floor and two pull-out couches in the house. They also set up a buffet of food for those that were hungry.
Fortunately, all 15 people were able to return to their homes Wednesday.
Then, Hoffert teamed up with her roommate Emily Steenbergh to house displaced Lāhainā families for three nights at Steenbergh’s clinic, Malama Speech Therapy Services, which opened in Kīhei earlier this year.
The facility, outfitted with air conditioning, internet, a mini fridge, and even toys and games for kids, was comfortable for families since Steenbergh primarily services children, but the operation reflects a community effort. Neighboring businesses, Valley Isle Fitness and Maui Powerhouse Gym, provided showers. Maui Powerhouse also donated clothes, and friends and family chipped in air mattresses and hygiene supplies.
While the clinic is longer hosting families, including a King Kamehameha III teacher, her husband, and three children, all have secured different accommodations. One of the hosts is a special education teacher.
Meanwhile, Hoffert and Steenbergh’s home is full with displaced individuals until they secure permanent housing.
“For me, it’s really sad to see how many students and their families have been affected by this fire,” said Steenbergh.
Steenbergh is no stranger to working alongside students and families in Lāhainā. In addition to running the clinic, she provides speech therapy services to all Hawaiʻi State Department of Education schools in the Lāhainā area as an independent contractor.
Steenbergh said, “There are people going through way worse and right now. I told myself, ‘You’re not helping anyone sitting here being sad. Turn it into something that makes you feel hopeful.’ Giving back to the community is a step in the right direction.”
Hoffert, who was supposed to be teaching students this week, is now finding joy and meaning in helping families displaced by the fires.
She said, “I feel very fortunate that I’m in a place where my home is fine. The Maui community is very close-knit. To be able to pull the resources I have to help other teachers in need — these are my colleagues, my extended family almost — it’s part of the teaching job, having a home base of helping and giving.”
More than 100 active and retired Maui educators have either lost their homes entirely in the fires or their homes suffered damage to the extent that they have to temporarily relocate. The HSTA has issued relief checks to those educators and plans a second round of payments in late December 2023.