Johnson and Winfrey initially committed $10 million to the fund and also asked others to donate.
Lana Vierra misses the swing set at her Lahaina home, which was reduced to ashes in the wildfires that swept through her community last summer.
When Winfrey and Johnson launched the People's Fund for Maui which benefited people who lost their homes in the wildfires, they committed $10 million and asked others to join them. At the time, the request was met with some criticism, especially given Winfrey's wealth and extensive estate in Maui. Over many years, the disaster response community has grown to trust direct cash transfers like these as a very useful tool, said Shannon Doocy, a professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Despite initial fears of misuse, she said, research has shown cash transfers overwhelmingly benefit the intended recipients who spend it on essentials like housing and food.
She said they are extremely grateful to everyone who donated and for the mutual aid efforts that were set up immediately after the fires. Those local efforts were how most people received assistance in the first weeks after the fire, said Maui-based attorney Lance Collins, who is representing some survivors.
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