Factoring in her Section 8 assistance voucher, Almeida pays $434-a-month rent for her new two-bedroom unit, less than she paid for the one-bedroom place in Kalihi. Without the Section 8 subsidy, the typical Wilder Vista two-bedroom apartment would cost $656.

Almeida, a 74-year-old retiree who cares for her adult son, encourages the state to provide more incentives for developers to create affordable housing complexes like Wilder Vista, which was built by a private, nonprofit company with the help of low-income housing tax credits. "It's hard for people to get housing," Almeida said. "If you live on a fixed income, it's not easy."

To get these units, residents must meet income qualifications as determined by federal guidelines. For the two-bedroom Wilder unit, the Almeidas must make less than $26,300 annually, which comes out to 50 percent of area median income.

More of these units are on the way in an effort to curb Hawai'i's growing housing crisis. Gov. Linda Lingle last week announced that the state was awarding $4.1 million in state and federal tax credits and $13 million in low-interest construction loans to help build six projects with 323 affordable housing units. The loans and credits are administered by the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawai'i.

Eleven of Tusitala's one-bedroom units will rent for 30 percent of area median income, which is $369. The rest will rent at 50 percent of median income — $605 for a one-bedroom unit, $710 for a two-bedroom.

'This really helps'

Jason and Son Ae Sullivan, a young couple who live in a two-bedroom unit with their 2-year-old daughter, Kylie, also are grateful residents of the Wilder complex.

"This really helps because everywhere you go, the rent is really high," said Son Ae Sullivan, 21. With Son Ae staying home to care for Kylie, the family depends on Jason's earnings as a technician at a car dealership as their sole income.

"It's just not enough because we don't have anyone to watch our daughter," she said, citing both money and trust as the reasons she does not get a baby sitter.

Don Bono, 41, who grosses less than $20,000 a year as the food purchaser for a Honolulu restaurant, is among those living at the Birch Street Apartments, another HHDC project.

The affordability provisions at the Birch Street Apartments put the monthly rental cost of the project at $750, he said. Bono, the single parent of a 20-year-old college student, pays $360 a month thanks to his Section 8 aid.

More units needed

The governor has acknowledged that these 323 units will make only a small dent in the housing crisis. Lingle has cited a study done for the state by private consultant SMS Research that estimates it will take 30,000 units to meet the demand for affordable rentals.

Statistics provided by HCDCH staff show that there are 87 private apartment complexes statewide receiving tax credits, low-interest loans or both in exchange for keeping their units affordable for a minimum of 30 years. Those projects provide 4,955 units that must follow federal affordability guidelines, which use area median income numbers determined by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for each of the state's four counties.

The developers of those projects annually receive $29.7 million in low-income housing tax credits from the federal government and $8.1 million from the state. The state's Rental Housing Trust Fund also has provided them $59.7 million in low-interest construction loans during the past 10 years. The loans can be used for acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable housing rental units.

Housing task force

The Lingle administration earlier this year established a task force to tackle the affordable housing issue, with the goals of creating an action plan to end homelessness and fast-tracking construction of 17,000 subsidized rental units on state lands over the next five years.

Additionally, the governor has signed a bill that increases the bond authorization amount under the Hula Mae Multi-Family Housing Program from $200 million to $300 million to spur the development and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing projects.

The need is great. Lynn Maunakea, executive director for the Institute for Human Services, which provides help and shelter for Hawai'i's homeless community, said on any given evening, IHS has a waiting list of 60 to 70 families.

"The truth is, we're in a housing crisis," said Darlene Hein, executive director for the Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance. "The need is everywhere. We have so much need it's across all barriers. Anywhere among the lower levels the need for housing is a crisis. People who are living on fixed income or getting Section 8 are really feeling the pinch for housing, currently."

Maunakea and Hein said they have no way to know if any of their respective clients will be helped directly by the six projects being helped by the tax credits and loans announced last week — but both believe every bit helps.

"This is a start," Hein said, "and it's more than we've seen in a long time so, yeah, it's where we want to begin."

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.

Correction: Jacqueline Almeida is 74 years old. Her age was incorrect in a story above. Also, a study conducted for the state estimates there is a need in Hawai'i for 30,000 affordable housing units — 17,000 rentals and 13,000 sales units. The number of affordable rental units was overstated in this story.