Suzanne Spencer has lived across from the upscale Ala Moana Center in Honolulu for nearly five years, but for her, the prime location isn’t a matter of luxury, it’s a necessity. 

The 57-year-old who pieces together a living doing temporary work and odd jobs she finds on Craigslist has been renting a room at the Central YMCA on Atkinson Drive for $300 a month since December 2019. 

A brain injury she suffered in a car crash more than 10 years ago has made it too hard for her to hold a steady job, but the affordable rate at the YMCA coupled with its central location near shopping centers and bus stops has allowed her to live independently.

Earlier this month though, she learned that way of life would be coming to an end after the Central YMCA informed her and several other long-term tenants that it wouldn’t continue subsidizing their rents.

As of Friday, they’ll be charged the YMCA’s regular rate of $400 a week, or $1,600 a month, for a single room and a communal bathroom. That’s an increase Spencer said she and other long-term residents, including older adults and people with disabilities, can’t afford.

‘We’ve Depleted The Funds’

Lisa Ontai, vice president of marketing and mission advancement for the YMCA of Honolulu, said the nonprofit organization hasn’t raised its advertised rents, it just doesn’t have the funds to continue subsidizing long-term tenants as it has for the past seven years.

Last year, the organization spent $132,000 on financial subsidies for eight long-term tenants. In turn, the Central YMCA only raised $32,321 during its 2024 annual campaign, just 46% of its fundraising goal. 

“We’ve depleted the funds at this point,” Ontai said.

She said the organization is trying to help its long-term tenants find other housing options. 

But Spencer said she hasn’t found any viable alternatives.

“I don’t have any place to go,” she said through tears during an interview Tuesday at a Starbucks across the street from the Central YMCA. “I work really hard, and I work a lot, but my brain injury doesn’t allow me to earn the amount of money that I need to survive.”

Ontai said the YMCA hopes to resume rent subsidies in the future but has had to pause the program until the end of its 2025 fundraising campaign.

“I think any loss of subsidized housing for people that really need it is a challenge.” 

Connie Mitchell of the Institute for Human Services

In the meantime, she said the organization has made a social worker available to work with residents on finding other places to stay. Most have said they plan to move in with relatives or have found ways to pay the higher rate at least temporarily until they can move into other permanent housing, she said. 

Spencer said receiving notice of her subsidy ending has completely shaken her sense of stability, and she still has no idea what she’s going to do come Friday. 

Ontai wouldn’t say whether those who can’t pay full price will be kicked out. “What I can say is that we’ll take each case by case and work with the best resources we have available.”

Though a letter from the YMCA informing Spencer of the change is dated Sept. 27, she said she didn’t receive it until Oct. 4, giving her less than a month’s notice to find a new place.

Operating As A Hotel

Mish Hood, senior executive director of the Central YMCA, said in a statement that all impacted guests were informed of the change on Sept. 28. Ontai said the organization is not required to give tenants 45 days notice of a rental increase as required in the state’s landlord-tenant code because the YMCA operates as a hotel and does not have a landlord-tenant relationship with guests. 

She acknowledged the difficulty of the situation for tenants but said continuing to provide the subsidy wasn’t sustainable for the organization.

“It is a very tough situation,” she said. “We’re working with human lives here. It’s unfortunately a situation we see happening every day in our community. The best we can do is to work the resources we have.” 

Spencer said she wishes the YMCA would have at least given tenants more notice. Most of her time is spent working her various jobs and traveling via bus and bicycle between them, leaving little free time to search for apartments. Also, her brain injury makes it difficult for her to keep track of the resources available to her.

The Central YMCA, which was built at its current location on Atkinson Drive in 1949, is the only Y location on Oahu with residences, aside from the YMCA Camp Erdman in Waialua, which offers overnight camps for youth and families and has beachfront cabins and yurts available for nightly rentals. Eight other YMCA locations across the island offer various activities including after-school programs, senior programs and fitness classes.

The Central Y, which closed its health and fitness facilities in 2015, has 115 rooms available and is usually at 70%-80% occupancy, according to Ontai.

Transitional Housing Gaps

Private rooms with a shared community bathroom are available for $65 a night or $400 a week, while rooms with private bathrooms or kitchenettes are more expensive.

Ontai said the subsidized $300 a month rent was a special rate worked out with certain tenants on a case-by-case basis and was never advertised.

The organization usually provides financial aid by calculating a person’s household size and income and offers up to 60% of the cost of a person’s rent or membership, she said. 

Most of the eight long-term tenants who were receiving the higher subsidy were referred to the YMCA by the Institute for Human Services, a nonprofit focused on finding housing for homeless people, Ontai said.  

The YMCA was seen as a transitional housing space for people coming off the street and seeking more permanent solutions, said IHS Executive Director Connie Mitchell. She said the Institute for Human Services used to pay its clients’ rents at the YMCA, but that program ended around nine years ago due to funding cuts. 

She said the city needs more options for affordable, transitional housing for people seeking stability. 

“I think any loss of subsidized housing for people that really need it is a challenge,” she said. 

For Spencer, it’s not just the loss of the only place she’s called home since moving to Hawaii in December 2019, it’s the loss of a community where she’s formed friendships and established a routine. 

“I’m grateful I have this place where I can be safe,” she said. “I’ve met some very kind people that have become friends. I don’t know where I’m going to go. It’s just fear.”