Groups protest man's eviction
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
Groups representing low-income tenants have intervened in the eviction case of a Marshallese resident in Palolo, charging the landlord with breaking a federal law requiring that a translator be provided during landlord-tenant meetings.
Members of the advocacy groups Micronesians United and Island Tenants on the Rise have met with the management of Palolo Valley Homes over the way the eviction case of the Rev. Ranet John has been handled.
The most recent meeting was held Wednesday in the offices of Mutual Housing Association of Hawai'i, the nonprofit corporation that manages the 306-unit project.
David M. Nakamura, the association's executive director, said the nonprofit's legal counsel will review the federal requirements for interpretive services.
"We want to be compliant with the law," Nakamura told the group Wednesday.
At issue is whether Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act requires the management to have provided John with a Marshallese translator at meetings concerning his eviction. Monique Ocampo, president of Island Tenants on the Rise, said that because the project receives Section 8 federal rental subsidies, the civil rights code requires that management provide a translator as John requested.
In a letter to John dated April 26, Mutual's property manager, Zeke Jasso, said management would "contribute half of the payment to a professional interpreter for the meeting to privately discuss your case."
Ocampo's argument was echoed by Melander Melander, president of Micronesians United, who said in a letter that the management "shows little compassion for many of the tenants."
"In a housing project that comprises people who speak at least six different languages and English is a second or third language, management has made no attempt to provide translation and interpreters for the tenants," the letter said.
Nakamura declined to speak about the specifics of John's eviction. Speaking through an interpreter at the Wednesday meeting, John said one issue in dispute was the allegation that a person unauthorized on the lease was living in his unit, a charge he has denied.
Mutual Housing has managed the Palolo Homes since 2002, when it launched a $13.5 million renovation of the former state-owned public housing project. Work was completed last August.
Nakamura told the group that the management is bound to enforce regulations set by the federal Section 8 and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs.
Pat McManaman, an attorney and director of Na Loio Immigrant Rights and Public Interest Legal Center, said that "as a general rule, any entity that receives federal funds needs to provide services in a manner that is language accessible."
Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.
