Housing authority settles complaint of language bias

Hawaii’s public housing agency has agreed to take action to remove language barriers for tenants after a family that speaks little English almost got evicted when they didn’t understand the proceedings against them.

The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii last week announced the settlement reached with the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, resolving a discrimination complaint filed with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The group took action last year on behalf of Valantin Sirom and his wife, Sasinta Seremea, and their family, who faced eviction after two hearings before the authority. The couple, who are Chuukese, speaks some English but not enough to handle legal forms and proceedings.

At the first hearing their 17-year-old daughter tried to interpret for them but left midway because she became upset, according to Legal Aid fair housing attorney Reyna Ramolete Hayashi. At the second they had no interpreter. Minors are prohibited from being interpreters in such cases, Hayashi said.

The housing authority did not admit fault in the settlement, but awarded $2,000 in damages to the couple and agreed to beef up its language access efforts. The authority’s executive director was out of state, and his co-worker did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

“We work closely with the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, and we want to thank them for taking really proactive measures in this case,” Hayashi said. “Our organization wants to make sure everybody has equal access to housing and other services to help families become self-sufficient.”

The law gives people the right to a free interpreter to ensure access to services funded with federal or state funds, including hospitals, public housing, schools and the courts. But many people don’t realize it.

The couple got help only through happenstance. They were trying to find another place to live in June when they saw the sign at the Legal Aid office downtown and asked for help.

“The family had packed up their things and put them into storage, but we were able to step in before they actually physically left the property,” Hayashi said.

At a rehearing on the case, the housing board dismissed the eviction case for insufficient evidence.

“We are so thankful for everything Reyna and Legal Aid has done for our family,” said Seremea in a statement released by Legal Aid. “If it wasn’t for them our family would be homeless.”

During settlement negotiations the housing authority adopted a Language Access Plan and Policy that took effect in October. The agreement requires it to implement that plan, which includes identifying people with limited English ability and providing free and competent interpretation as needed.

The agency must also give people notice of their right to free language services. In cases where a person waives the need for interpretation during a hearing with the housing authority, the hearing body must confirm that they understand the waiver and reschedule the proceedings if interpreting help is needed.

“We hope these new changes will help others like we have been helped, so other families will know their rights and won’t have to go through what we did,” Sirom said in a prepared statement.

About 24 percent of Hawaii residents speak a language other than English at home.

“Legal Aid and the Hawaii Public Housing Authority should be congratulated for working to ensure the rights of public-housing tenants to be free from ancestry-based discrimination,” said William Hoshijo, executive director of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission. “The settlement should serve as a reminder that state and federal fair-housing laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of national origin or ancestry.”