Affordable Housing A Path to Homelessness

Hi, I am a 73 year old retired, disabled, veteran who lives on Social Security and if you haven't guessed already, I live in an Affordable Housing Project owned by the County of Kauai. I have done everything requested of me from the first notice of violation as I cherish my home and can't afford to lose it. I requested a Grievance Hearing with the local Public Housing Authority (PHA - HCV Program) for my Section 8 housing. The Federal Register lists The Kauai County Housing Agency as the local PHA. The hearing was approved and I waited for a date and time. Then it was canceled saying that I had done nothing wrong within the program to warrant a hearing. I was referred to the Agency of Elderly Affairs who referred me to the Legal Aid Society. After providing everything asked for I was told it was believed I had a case and awaited an appointment with the managing director. Then I was told that the managing director was leaving to accept another job and the only other lawyer in the office doesn't believe these types of cases are winnable because the County makes out the contracts as month to month rentals rather than the HUD mandated year to year lease and you can't introduce the federal law in court because the HUD mandated Tenancy Addendum is not attached to your contract. Therefore HRS 521-71 applies, that basically says management can evict a tenant for no reason. A few days later I got a call from the legal assistant who was originally helping me, saying she had forwarded all my paperwork to a lawyer in Honolulu who specializes in this type of case. After spending several hours telling him the details, he kept saying that I wasn't giving him anything to work with. In his words it always ends in a he said she said even with witnesses or so called proof where the judge couldn't decide the truth, until I mentioned management cheating on the House Rules. The next day I got a call telling me that after an hour on the phone with EAH Housings lawyer he had convinced him that management could not win this case in court. Now I'm a bit vague as to what happened next even though I asked questions, but the next thing that happened was the new best way out was a Mutual Termination Agreement sent by EAH Housing's lawyer. When I asked what happened I was told, we work in teams using local lawyers, we do not have the budget to island hop for court appearances. All the members of the team must agree on a course of action. The only thing that makes sense here is the local lawyer refused to litigate the case in court. I read the agreement and refused to sign it because of all the illegal things it contained. We then spent time rewording the agreement and sending it back. Basically they were to dismiss the case and I must move in 60 days. The next hearing was on Aug 19 and the local lawyer presented the agreement to the judge. EAH Housing's lawyer was a no show and the judge refused to dismiss the case. He asked for a stipulation from EAH Housing's lawyer to dismiss. I knew at this point they were not going to live up to their agreement. I was assured that this would not happen until the time ran out on Oct 31, 2019 and it did not happen. I didn't move because they broke the agreement the day they were a no show in court. Next I get a summons to appear because they were suing me for breaking the agreement. That summons broke the state law for not giving me time to prepare. So the next summons was dated Dec 2, 2019 the same day they dismissed the original case. EHA Housing's lawyer flew in from Honolulu specifically for this hearing. The judge puts us in mediation because I do not have representation. EAH Housing's lawyer proceeds to tell me I can not win this case and he is very good at what he does. If we do not reach an agreement you will lose your HCV (Section 8 voucher) for five years and become homeless. I'm EMR Sensitive and the first problem I have in Lihue because of all the cell towers and free Wi-Fi is organizing my thoughts. Doctors do not recognize this problem yet. While the mediator was asking good questions he could not see a good end result for me. The fair housing Act gives up to 60 days for disabled people and I caved to that. The agreement was signed and the judge agreed. I have all along been looking for a place to live, desperately wanting to get away from this manager. Affordable Housing directly from the state or HUD (through the Hawaii Housing Agency) is 3 years out after you fill out the paperwork and approved you are put on a waiting list. Looking for other affordable housing, the waiting lists are not open and there are no vacancies. Looking on the retail rental market, no one accepts the HCV Program. So on Jan 31, 2020 at 4PM I will become homeless. The cost of moving into storage and out of storage and the deposit and my portion of the first month rent will put me in debt. I had a blowout on the way to a doctor's appointment and while I could get the spare out of the trunk I could no longer change the tire. I passed out on the front seat of the car and a kind woman stopped to help and found me. This made me realize that my desire to move out wade my physical ability to move. So I am here asking for help. If you think this was a long story you should hear the long version. If you agree this is wrong on multiple levels please sign my petition. Or better yet call (808) 241-4440 and ask to speak with Steven Franco and express the fact that management broke the house rules when getting a lawyer to serve a 45 day notice.

When I was a kid this was called cheating, but she is also a habitual liar. This is why she hates me because I call her out. I'm not the only one here. According to the chair of Health and Human Services for the County she has had at least 4 complaints against her. She evicts people because their kids are out playing without supervision and making too much noise.