BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President Calvin Pang, Esq.

Vice-President/Treasurer

Jodi Shin Yamamoto, Esq.

Vice-President/ Secretary

Susan Ichinose, Esq.

Mary Aguilar Carol Anzai

Joseph Boivin, Jr. Susan Chong-Wong

Lowell K.Y. Chun-Hoon Naomi C. Fujimoto, Esq.

Kathy Fujimori Alice Greenwood

K. Alohilani Hue Sing Sally Kaye, Esq.

Corianne Lau, Esq. Andrew Levin, Esq.

Susan Li, Esq. Howard Luke, Esq. Francis Mukai, Esq. Zale Okazaki, Esq.

Evelyn Olores Blake Oshiro, Esq. Kahiolani Papalimu

Kristin Shigemura, Esq. Sara Silverman, Esq.

George J. Zweibel, Esq.

Executive Director M. Nalani Fujimori Kaina

Legal Aid is Hawaii’s oldest

and largest non-profit law

firm. Our mission is to

achieve fairness and justice

through legal advocacy,

outreach and education for

those in need.

Established in 1950, Legal

Aid has 10 offices statewide,

and over 90 attorneys, para-

legals, and administrative

staff all dedicated to achiev-

ing Legal Aid’s vision of

“Building a Just Society.”

www.legalaidhawaii.org

Building a Just Society

Newsletter Winter 2011

Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Unit Wins Settlement of $20,000

for Client and Preserves Fair Housing Rights

M ary (not real name) had been living happily in her rental unit for 13 years when she was diag-

nosed with cancer in 2009. The cancer diagnosis and treatment aggravated symptoms of her pre-

existing anxiety disorder. Mary obtained an emotional support animal, approved by her doctor, to miti-

gate these symptoms. During a random visit to Mary’s rental unit, the landlord noticed the cat. She

complained to Mary that the lease prohibited animals, but Mary explained that the cat helps her stay

calm while she is going through cancer treatment. The landlord refused to make an accommodation for

Mary, even after receiving a letter from Mary’s doctor. The landlord repeatedly showed up at the unit to

yell at and harass Mary about the cat. Mary contacted the Fair Housing Enforcement Program for

help.

After FHEP became involved, the landlord still refused to grant the accommodation, and continued to

tell Mary to remove the cat or move-out. Mary finally gave in and moved to a less desirable unit in the

summer of 2010. In December 2010, the FHEP filed a complaint with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commis-

sion against Mary’s landlord for disability based housing discrimination. After an extensive investiga-

tion, the HCRC determined that Mary had been the victim of housing discrimination. Pursuant to the

settlement the housing provider will now hire a new property management company and must notify all

tenants and applicants of their fair housing rights. The housing provider agreed to settle the case for

$20,000, and Mary received a settlement check. Legal Aid secured Mary’s fair housing rights and en-

sured that tenants like Mary in the future would be protected from unlawful fair housing discrimina-

tion.

LEGAL AID

SOCIETY OF HAWAI I ‘

A s we near the end of 2011, we give thanks to the many people

who have supported Legal Aid throughout this year.

We are thankful to the 65 volunteers who have provided the organization over 2,351 hours of their time. Our staff and board members remain dedicated to Legal Aid’s mission of providing legal services to low-income individuals and families.

There has been an increase of low-income individuals and families throughout Hawaii this year. As a result there has been an increase in the demand for services from Legal Aid. In FY11, Legal Aid closed more than 10,326 cases, a 9% increase from the prior year.

As the demand for our services in-creases, Legal Aid faces a dramatic reduction in funds from major fund-ing sources including Legal Services Corporation, our biggest funder. Now more than ever Legal Aid needs sup-port from the community to enable us to continue our work to provide access and justice for Hawaii’s low to moderate income individuals and families. Throughout this newsletter you will

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from Legal Aid!Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from Legal Aid!Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from Legal Aid!

Donations - Your donation to Legal Aid goes a long way $25 – helps ensure the safety and security of a child through a power of attorney $50 – helps a disabled person apply for public benefits $75 – helps an elderly person prepare for their future with a fi-nancial power of attorney, advanced health care directive, or sim-ple will $100 – helps teach a person in debt how to file for bankruptcy on their own. $200 – helps an immigrant crime victim stabilize their status and obtain needed services. $250 – helps prevent wrongful eviction of a family from their home $500 – helps a domestic violence victim obtain a restraining order against their abuser $1000+ - helps Legal Aid achieve fairness and justice through legal advocacy, outreach and education for those in need.

read the stories of clients who have greatly benefited from receiving Legal Aid assistance. Without Le-gal Aid’s assistance these individu-als and more may go without re-ceiving assistance which could re-sult in homelessness, abuse of a child or domestic violence victim or financial instability.

To find out how you can support Legal Aid with

your donation turn to page 4.

LEGAL AID’S MAUI ATTORNEY HELPS RETURN CHILD TO MOTHER FROM ABUSIVE FATHER

Mia (not real name) experienced physical and mental abuse

from her boyfriend, the father of her child. During a trip to

California to visit her boyfriend’s family, her boyfriend

locked her in a room and only allowed her to leave to use the

restroom. Her boyfriend repeatedly punched her in her

stomach while she was pregnant with their second child.

When Mia began bleeding, her boyfriend dropped her off at

the hospital. The next day he picked her up and left Mia at

the airport with a one way ticket back to Maui, taking their

son with him. The local authorities told Mia they were un-

able to help her because Father stated he had papers stating

she was giving up their son. They warned her if she tried to

pick up the baby she would be arrested for trespassing. Not

knowing what else to do, Mia returned to Maui where she

has family.

Maui’s Legal Aid Staff Attorney Kristina Toshikiyo as-

sisted Mia and filed for custody as well as for the immediate

return of the child. With a Hawai‘i court order in hand, Mia

flew to California and presented her documents to the sher-

iff. However Mia was told they do not recognize court orders

from Hawaii and she would need a California custody order.

Again Mia returned to Maui without her son.

With assistance from Ms. Toshikiyo the Hawaii and Califor-

nia courts determined that Hawai‘i was the proper venue to

determine custody of the child. After the trial, Mia was

awarded sole legal and physical custody of the child with

Father granted supervised visits only on Maui. Father was

ordered to return the child to Maui immediately. When Fa-

ther did not comply with the court’s orders, Mia again raised

money to fly to California and obtained police assistance to

successfully retrieve the baby. Mia was finally reunited with

her son and they returned together home to Maui.

FROM THE BEACH TO A HOME: LEGAL AID HELPS HOMELESS WOMAN RECEIVE SOCIAL SECURITY Sally (not real name) was

homeless on the beaches of

Waianae when she sought help from Homeless Project Su-

pervising Attorney Janet Kelly to apply for Social Security

Income (SSI). With Janet’s assistance Sally applied for and

successfully began receiving SSI providing her a stable

monthly income. As a result of Janet’s assistance within a

month of receiving benefits Sally signed a lease to rent a

home in Waianae. After living unsheltered on the beach for

10 consecutive years, Sally received the keys to her new

home in November.

Our Clients, Their StoriesOur Clients, Their StoriesOur Clients, Their Stories

Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center at Legal Aid was

featured in a spotlight of nonprofit organizations and com-

munity groups on Hawaii’s local Olelo community media

station.

From Left to Right: Lisa Lee (AmeriCorps member), Paul Luu

(Paralegal), Calleen Ching (Supervising Attorney), Bow Mun

Chin (Staff Attorney) and Katherine Porras (AmeriCorps mem-

ber)

Legal Aid in the Community

LEGAL AID PRESERVES A DISABLED WOMAN’S RIGHTS IN FAIR HOUSING SUIT Patricia Sueno has limited mobility. In September 2010, an

electric motor scooter, paid for by Medicaid, was delivered to

her apartment unit. The resident manager at her building

told her that she must remove the

scooter from the property, or be evicted.

Patricia immediately had the scooter

stored at a private storage facility. The

next day she received notice that her

lease was being terminated. She con-

tacted the Legal Aid’s Fair Housing

Enforcement Program (FHEP) for

help.

FHEP contacted Patricia’s housing provider to request that

the lease termination be rescinded, since it was clearly is-

sued for reasons related to her disability and in violation of

state and federal fair housing law. FHEP also requested that

Patricia be allowed to store her scooter, a medical necessity,

on property at her building.

The housing provider rescinded the lease termination, but

refused to allow the scooter to be stored on property. The

FHEP filed a disability based housing discrimination com-

plaint against Patricia’s housing provider in May 2011.

Finally with Legal Aid’s assistance an agreement was

reached. The housing provider is building a personal garage

on property for Ms. Sueno’s scooter and is required to put up

fair housing posters in their buildings, attend fair housing

training, and inform all tenants and applicants of their fair

housing rights.

Patricia received two month’s free rent, a fixed term lease

and a $1,380 check for reimbursement for a year of private

storage for the scooter. Legal Aid helped maintain Ms.

Sueno’s housing and also protected her right to have a

scooter that will greatly increase her mobility and quality of

life.

Spotlight: Meet Legal Aid’s Kona OfficeSpotlight: Meet Legal Aid’s Kona OfficeSpotlight: Meet Legal Aid’s Kona Office

The Kona Office was founded in 1979, and was staffed by one paralegal. It is now thriving with a full-time GA-SSI paralegal, Paula Boyer; two full-time attorneys, Joanna Sokolow and Charles McCreary; and part-time attorney Maiden Temple. In Au-gust 2011, the much beloved and revered GA-SSI paralegal, Gayle Dunn, retired to return to her grandbabies in Chico, CA.

Joanna moved to Kailua-Kona in 2006 from Washington D.C. She graduated from Georgetown Law and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is married to Ben Duke, who is a teacher at a local public char-ter school. Joanna has two young kids: Jackie Elizabeth and Satchel. She has no plans to get pregnant again for the next couple of weeks.

Maiden is married to Bill Ludwick and has lived in Kailua-Kona since 1994. Maiden is a lifelong Hawai`i resident, having grown up on Kauai. She sings in a local choir, volunteers often, and dotes on her 18 year-old cat.

Charlie hails from the Midwest. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke and his J.D. from California Western School of Law. He previously worked for Volunteer Legal Services of Hawaii on Oahu. Charlie plays various musical instruments and enjoys out-door activities, including long, moonlit walks on the beach.

Paula has lived in Kona since 2007 and has two children, Odessa, 9 years, and Theo, six years. Paula has 20+ years of experience as a paralegal. She enjoys spending time at the

beach. She and her kids have a mini-farm, on which they care for 15 pets, including a pregnant chinchilla.

The Office handles the usual panoply of Fam-ily law cases: clinics for uncontested divorces and post-VEP pater-nity cases, TROs, un-contested guardian-

ships of adults as well as children, uncontested adoptions, occasional contested divorces and court-appointed Guardian ad Litem; Hous-ing cases such as evictions and land-lord-tenant disputes; Consumer assis-tance in debt collection, foreclosure, and repossessions; and Public Bene-fits. Under a grant from the County of Hawaii, services are provided to sen-iors 60 or older in all categories and especially in preparing AHCD, and DPOA.

Sharing an office with a view and en-joying parties together, the staff finds things to laugh about to relieve the stress and frustration of challenging work combined with inadequate re-sources to meet the needs of the West Hawai’i Community. Our apprecia-tive clients regularly remind us how happy they are that we pro-vide them needed services and support, especially in these tough economic times.

Volunteering Legal Aid is looking for volunteers to help with

our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program.

Every year Legal Aid staff and volunteers assist

individuals prepare and file their State and Fed-

eral tax returns.

This service helps individuals receive the tax

credits they deserve like the Earned Income Tax

Credit, which depending on the household size

and gross income has the potential of earning a

family up to $6,000. Last year we helped indi-

viduals and families collect about $1,000,000 from

their returns.

If you are interested in volunteering

contact Elise von Dohlen at

elvondo@lashaw.org

Free Tax Preparation Do you find tax law confusing? Don’t know which credits and deductions to take? Need assis-tance with your tax return? The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii may be able to help.

We begin preparing tax returns

on Saturday January 21, 2012.

Our services are FREE!*

Individuals interested in this service may call our

reservation line at (808)527-8050 or walk-in at

our Honolulu office on Saturdays starting at

9:00am, first come first serve.

*There are income requirements to qualify for

services. The household income for a family of 4

must be less than $60,000.

Legal Aid’s Volunteer Income Legal Aid’s Volunteer Income Legal Aid’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance ProgramTax Assistance ProgramTax Assistance Program

Gayle Dunn

From Left to Right: Joanna,

Maiden, Charlie and Paula

Telephone: (808) 536-4302 · Fax: (808) 527-8088 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 37375 · Honolulu, Hawaii 96837-0375

924 Bethel Street · Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Calvin Pang, Esq. President, Board of Directors

M. Nalani Fujimori Kaina, Esq.

Executive Director

Legal Aid Donation Form

Thank you for your support this holiday season! Your gift will ensure that Legal Aid Society of Hawai‘i can continue to strive towards our mission of achieving fairness and justice through legal advocacy, outreach and education for those in need. Mahalo nui Loa!

Name/Organization _________________________________ Address __________________________________________ City, State Zip _____________________________________ E-mail ___________________________________________

Pledge Amount and Method of Payment I/We would like to make payment of our pledge as follows: Check enclosed for $__________ Please charge $_________ to my ___ Visa ___ Mastercard Cardholder Name: _____________________________ Card Number: _________________________________ Expiration Date: _______________ Authorized Signature: ______________________________

If you do not wish Legal Aid to recognize your contributions in its various program publications and in its Annual Report, please check the following: _____ If sending a check, please make payable to Legal Aid Society of Hawaii. Legal Aid is a charitable organization under IRS Section 501(c). All gifts to Legal Aid are tax deductible to the extent provided by the law. Contributions will be used to fund activities permitted by LSC Laws & Regulations.

www.legalaidhawaii.org A UNITED WAY AGENCY

You will receive a receipt of your donation in 2-3 weeks.

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