How Lahaina Community Land Trust helped families rebuild with automation

In August 2023, devastating wildfires in Lahaina, Maui, left thousands of homes destroyed and families in need of rebuilding their lives, prompting ForLahaina Community Land Trust (LCLT) to streamline its processes for assisting affected families. Faced with a substantial administrative burden, LCLT launched the Insurance Gap Program to bridge financial and resource gaps following insurance payouts. To handle the complex and voluminous data from multi-person household applications, LCLT utilized automation tools like Salesforce and Zapier, transforming chaotic Google Form submissions into structured data. This process involved creating detailed records for primary applicants, co-applicants, and household members while maintaining relational integrity through Python scripting and looping. The automated workflow significantly reduced manual entry time, allowing staff to focus on family support and process applications more efficiently, ultimately accelerating aid distribution. By enhancing operational efficiency, LCLT can allocate more resources directly toward helping families rebuild, demonstrating their commitment to delivering hope and support in a crisis.