Sacred Hearts Case Study

The Situation

Sacred Hearts School suffered severe loss from the Maui Wildfires with several school buildings burning down.    

The Need

The school needed assistance with an unprecedented situation with over 200 students without a place to go to school the day after the fire.  

How We Helped

Secured Temporary Facilities   

Sacred Hearts School needed a temporary location immediately.  Every day of delay was a loss of education for the students.  Michael helped the school relocate operations to Kapalua at Sacred Hearts Mission church’s outdoor courtyard with further expansion into the church’s yard.  The next step was to identify a larger and more suitable location for the school until they can safely return to Lahaina.  Upon identifying a suitable property and signing of a lease, design began for tenant improvements to turn a commercial spaces into a school with classrooms.  Permit applications were submitted and construction began upon issuance of building permits and other approvals.    

FEMA and Insurance Assistance

A damage assessment was conducted for the Roman Catholic Church’s property in Lahaina which included the church and school.    

Our team worked with the school, the school’s insurance consultant and FEMA to document the financial loss including documentation for the school's business interruption statement of loss; organized and coordinated documentation for all insured losses; prepared the proof of loss documents required by the insurance contracts; analyzed and evaluated the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) application of the ‘duplication of benefits’ regulations, which were deducted from the school's project worksheet grant amounts.  Our team followed FEMA’s complex process to apply and get approved for public assistance funding including completing and uploading FEMA’s forms and spreadsheets with documentation through FEMA’s Grants Portal.  We also submitted Right of Entry Form’s for debris removal, one for each parcel.      

Rebuilding in Lahaina 

Emergency protection was arranged for the historic church to prevent further damage.  Permanent repairs and restoration are ready to start upon Maui County allowing work to begin.     The rebuilding process is in progress.  Master Planning has begun to determine how to replace and/or restore the school, housing and church facilities that suffered damage or loss.  Construction is expected to begin in 2025.