GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Jane Kamanu, right, faces eviction from a seniors-only complex in Waimanalo because she took in her great-granddaughter Kahealani Kamanu.

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Resident evicted over
grandchild stirs debate

Jane Kamanu knew the rules before she broke them: No children allowed.

But what if, she argues, the rules are unfair?

The 72-year-old will be evicted July 15 from a Waimanalo low-income housing complex for native Hawaiian seniors where she pays $299 a month in rent, nearly half of her $682 monthly income, after she chose to take in her 11-year-old great-granddaughter, Kehealani.

She raised the girl from birth and has guardianship of her, Kamanu said.

But in 2002, when Kamanu moved into Kulanakauhale Maluhia o Na Kupuna, which sits on state Hawaiian Home Lands Department property and is managed by Prudential Locations, Kehealani went to live with her mother, who had decided to get back into the girl's life.

Months later, the girl returned to her great-grandmother's care.

"She said, 'Please, can I stay with you? I don't feel right with Mommy,'" Kamanu said, recounting a conversation she had with Kehealani. "I told her that I couldn't have her because children are not allowed. But she said, 'Please, Tutu, can I stay with you?'

"I thought it could be done. I didn't see anything that was really bad that she could do. The only thing is that it's the rules and the regulations."

Kamanu got her first citation for taking in her great-grandchild about five months ago, nearly two years after Kehealani moved in. Her second citation came on May 25, and she received her eviction notice on June 2.

"I can understand the people that want to be left alone," Kamanu said, "but there are people like us who have families who need someplace to go."

Kamanu is fighting the eviction -- while she searches newspaper classifieds for a comparably priced rental. And she has found support from Na Tutu, an advocacy group for grandparents raising grandchildren.

"This is a disgrace in Hawaii," said Jackie Young, chairwoman of the organization. "Residences should be made for these grandparents (raising grandchildren). ... I'm hoping that something comes through, that someone will provide for a place that she (Kamanu) can stay with her grandchild."

Young said Kamanu's case sheds light on an important problem in the islands.

There should be a certain number of senior living homes -- especially at residences designed for low- to moderate-income residents -- set aside for grandparents raising grandchildren, she said, but there are none. Other states do have such complexes. For example, a recently opened 100-unit apartment complex in Nevada specifically serves low-income seniors who are raising their grandchildren or great-grandchildren.

"I can understand grandparents wanting to live without kids around. They've already done their share, their job," Young said. "But there are grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, and I believe ... provisions should be made for them. That's not just for this complex, but for all complexes that have senior residency."

Lloyd Yonenaka, spokesman for the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, said his agency could do nothing for Kamanu. "We don't operate the facility," he said. "We're just supplying the land."

He did say the department had asked Prudential to help Kamanu find a rental. That assistance, Kamanu said, was little more than a Prudential real estate agent advising her to search through rental listings.

The Prudential property manager who is handling Kamanu's case failed to return three calls for comment.

But other residents at the housing complex had plenty to say about the situation. Most support the eviction, saying rules are rules, and Kamanu knew that before she moved in.

"That place is built for seniors to enjoy their retirement," said Edith Kanekoa, who lives a few doors down from Kamanu. "Throughout your life, there's rules that you need to follow, and following the rules to a T is important for me."

Kanekoa and others also said that Kehealani runs around the housing complex uninhibited, going into people's gardens and playing loudly.

Kamanu, though, paints another picture.

She said that she has taught Kehealani "to live among the kupuna. You respect the kupuna. You help them if they need help." After school, Kehealani plays off the housing complex grounds, Kamanu said.

"Some of the kupunas want their peace and quiet," Kamanu said. "I don't begrudge them that, but there are some of us who want our families, too."

Young said her organization will meet sometime soon to discuss what can be done for Kamanu.

She also said the case is tricky because if an exception to the rules is made, other grandparents will argue that they have a right to bring in their grandchildren, too. Meanwhile, residents who want "peace and quiet," Young said, will argue that their concerns are not being met.