For many low-wage workers, $18 an hour could be a step towards housing security.

Kimberly Dasalia works for $15 an hour at a Lihu‘e gas station.

“When COVID hit, the landlord didn’t tell us that our house was going into foreclosure, so we got booted out of our house,” said Dasalia. “I’m working, he retired in October, and we’re having a hard time finding housing.”

They have been homeless since then, living informally on Grove Farm property.

“Yeah, it’s only three dollars — but that three dollars could very well get us into a house,” said Dasalia. “We’d love to have running water. I’m not complaining. A lot of people out there have it worse than us.”

Anne Frederick, executive director of the Hawai‘i Alliance for Progressive Action, a nonprofit which has advocated on behalf of raising the minimum wage, sees a link between low wages and homelessness.

“People are living out of their cars, under bridges,” said Frederick. “It’s a combination of the high cost of living and low wages. People are getting pushed out. It’s really sad to see generational families where their kids don’t see a future for themselves here.”