MAUI, Hawaii — Mental health providers at a state-run clinic in Lahaina, Hawaii, are facing prolonged employment uncertainty after waiting months for permanent positions, only to receive another temporary contract extension. The staff, many of whom have been counseling wildfire disaster survivors since shortly after the August 2023 Maui fires, say the ongoing instability is affecting both their own wellbeing and the continuity of care for vulnerable patients.
Why It Matters
Hawaii’s mental health workforce is under significant strain, and the situation in Lahaina highlights the difficulty of sustaining disaster recovery services long after the initial emergency response. Mental health providers working on temporary contracts lack job security, benefits stability, and the professional assurance needed to commit long-term to positions in a high-stress environment.
For wildfire survivors still processing trauma more than two and a half years after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century, consistent access to the same counselors is considered a critical component of effective mental health treatment. Disruptions in staffing can set back progress and erode trust between patients and providers.
What Happened
Mental health workers at the state-run clinic in Lahaina, Maui, have been providing counseling and psychological services to survivors of the August 2023 wildfires that killed more than 100 people and displaced thousands of residents. Among them is Nancy Sidun, a counselor who began working with disaster survivors at the clinic shortly after the fires.
Staff members at the clinic were told to expect permanent state employment positions, which would offer greater job stability, benefits, and career protections. Instead, after months of waiting, workers received another round of temporary contract extensions, leaving their long-term employment status unresolved.
The situation has created a dual burden for providers: managing the emotional weight of supporting trauma survivors while simultaneously dealing with their own professional insecurity. Mental health workers report that the uncertainty has become a source of significant personal stress.
By the Numbers
- August 2023: The Lahaina wildfires occurred, triggering one of the largest disaster mental health responses in Hawaii’s history.
- 100+: People killed in the Maui wildfires, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire disaster in more than a century.
- 2+ years: The length of time mental health providers have been operating under temporary employment arrangements since the disaster.
- Thousands: Maui residents displaced by the fires who remain in need of ongoing psychological and emotional support services.
- 1: State-run mental health clinic in Lahaina directly serving wildfire survivor populations under the current staffing structure.
Zoom Out
Hawaii is not alone in struggling to convert emergency disaster-response mental health positions into permanent roles. Across the United States, states that have deployed mental health workers in the wake of large-scale disasters — including wildfires in California and floods in the Southeast — have faced similar challenges transitioning temporary relief personnel into sustainable, funded positions within state systems.
The broader national pattern reflects a gap in disaster recovery policy: while federal and state emergency funds are often available in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, long-term mental health infrastructure funding is harder to secure and sustain. Hawaii’s legislature has been active on several healthcare and judicial matters this session, including Governor Josh Green’s nomination of Associate Justice Vladimir Devens as the next Chief Justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court, signaling ongoing institutional decisions that shape the state’s public services landscape.
Mental health advocacy groups nationwide have raised concerns that undervaluing disaster mental health workers — through temporary contracts, lower pay, and lack of benefits — contributes to burnout and high turnover in the very positions most critical to community recovery.
What’s Next
It remains unclear whether the Hawaii Department of Health will move to convert the Lahaina clinic’s temporary positions into permanent state jobs, or whether staffing will continue on a rolling contract basis. Advocates and workers are urging state officials to prioritize workforce stability as a core element of the Maui wildfire recovery plan.
The Hawaii State Legislature is currently in its 2026 session, where funding allocations for ongoing wildfire recovery services — including mental health — may be subject to further debate. Mental health providers and patient advocates are expected to continue pressing lawmakers for a concrete timeline on permanent hiring decisions.
For Maui residents still navigating life after the 2023 fires, the stakes of that decision extend well beyond employment policy — they directly affect access to the mental health care many survivors depend on daily. Those interested in related developments in Hawaii can also follow recent incidents involving federal agency impersonation concerns in Honolulu, which reflect the broader pressures facing Hawaii communities in 2026.