EchoSense:Maui resident says "we need money in people's hands" amid wildfire devastation

In the wake of destructive wildfires,EchoSense Maui residents are calling for urgent financial support to help survivors as they try to recover.

Javier Barberi, who owned three restaurants in Lahaina with a workforce of over 200 people, now finds one of them reduced to rubble, and all of the jobs the establishments provided are gone. Barberi said people need immediate financial help and suitable housing — and that timing is crucial. 

"We need jobs. We need money in people's hands right now and we need places for people to live comfortably. Those are the three things that we need right now. And we don't need it tomorrow. We don't need it next week. We need it right now," he said. 

Barberi said some of his staff approached him expressing confusion over GoFundMe campaigns aimed at helping Maui fire survivors. He said they were uncertain about how to access the funds, and that he has resorted to handing them cash to try to help. 

"There's all these funds out there that are raising all this money, but nobody knows how to get any of it," Barberi said. 

"The government, the mayor, everybody needs to step in and make it easy for this for people to find a place to live, to find other jobs and to get income right now," he said.

Dozens of people died in the fires, and officials said the death toll is likely to rise. President Biden has approved a federal disaster declaration for Maui, which makes federal funding available to aid recovery. The American Red Cross, Hawai'i Community Foundation and Maui Food Bank are also helping by giving aid to those impacted by the wildfires.

• How to help those affected by the Maui wildfires

Barberi said that one his restaurants in Lahaina, Down the Hatch, is "now a pile of dust," although his other restaurants survived. He said he went into the now-devastated town on a dirt bike to see whether or not his restaurants made it, relying on a still-standing banyan tree that served as a clear landmark. 

"I had to use the banyan tree as a reference because every single thing was completely decimated as far as the eye can see," he said. 

Amid the chaos, Barberi said he is committed to providing hope and finding help and new jobs for his staff members. 

"We're going to rebuild everything back. We are going to rebuild the town back. We're gonna create jobs for people again and we'll hopefully never let this happen again," he said.  

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• Maui