Bernard Punikai‘a and Clarence Naia rest in a Kalaupapa cemetery on Molokai. But soon the presence of the two Hansen’s disease patients who became activists for patients’ rights and other causes will return to a former home on Oahu.
Punikai‘a and Naia were forcibly removed from Hale Mohalu in 1983 after a five-year fight against being evicted from the state’s poorly maintained residential treatment facility for Hansen’s disease patients.
Now a new phase of housing for low-income seniors on part of the former Hale Mohalu site will bear the names of Punikai‘a and Naia, who were determined that housing for people with disabilities would one day replace the treatment home razed by the state 30 years ago this month.
Wally Inglis, a former priest and close friend of Punikai‘a and Naia who formed a nonprofit to develop the affordable housing, called the dedication a “fitting tribute to two remarkable leaders in an important struggle for dignity and justice.”
Inglis, president of the Coalition for Specialized Housing, participated in a dedication ceremony last month for 163 new apartments in two buildings that are part of Hale Mohalu II. The ceremony also served as a groundbreaking event for a third building with 84 units reserved for low-income families. A fourth building with 84 units also for families is slated to be built as the final piece of Hale Mohalu II after more financing is arranged.
The original Hale Mohalu was created by the state in 1949 from a collection of World War II barracks above Pearl Harbor on a gently sloping hill planted with coconut trees imported from Kalaupapa. The facility, which at the time was in a rural area, was given the name Hale Mohalu, meaning “house of comfort.”
At one time Hale Mohalu was home to as many as 100 people with the disease once commonly referred to as leprosy, though occupancy dwindled as the facility fell into disrepair. After acquiring full control of the former federal property, the state announced in 1978 that it would close Hale Mohalu.
Thirteen remaining residents were given an option to move to Kalaupapa or to the more institutional setting at Leahi Hospital near Diamond Head. The decision was viewed in some respect as an affront to the dignity of patients who had long suffered at the hands of the government. Some residents refused to leave, and argued that the state had a duty to maintain the Pearl City care facility.
The state responded by cutting off services including water, electricity and medical care — a move that spurred volunteers to help the protesting residents. A five-year legal battle ensued.
A federal appellate court ruling in 1983 ended the standoff and allowed state enforcement officers to launch a predawn raid that resulted in 18 residents and supporters being arrested. In front of news cameras, Punikai‘a and Naia, the lone holdouts, were carried out. By the end of the day, Hale Mohalu was demolished by bulldozers.
The battle, however, was not finished. State officials at the time said they had no plans for the 11-acre property. A year later the state approved a proposal for a sports complex on the site. Punikai‘a and Naia said housing for seniors should instead be built.
Hale Mohalu supporter Kay Inglis believes a kapu, or sacred restriction, placed on the site by Naia kept it safe from the state’s plan. A lawsuit by the Hawaii Council of Churches as well as dogged efforts by Punikai‘a to generate support for affordable housing also paid off after several years.
The Coalition for Specialized Housing started by Inglis’ husband, Wally, was granted a lease for the land and in 1996 opened a new Hale Mohalu with 210 apartments for seniors, including those with disabilities, on part of the site.
This would be the only phase of the bigger development plan that Punikai‘a and Naia would see started or completed.
Punikai‘a died at 78 in 2009 at Leahi Hospital after his health was diminished by several strokes. He was born in Honolulu but was separated from his mother at age 6 and sent to a Kalihi hospital after being diagnosed with Hansen’s disease. When he was 11, he was sent to Kalaupapa but later returned to Oahu to live at Hale Mohalu.
Naia died at 77 in 2006, also at Leahi Hospital. He was born in Kalaupapa to parents with Hansen’s disease but was raised by his grandmother on Maui. At 25, Naia was diagnosed with the disease, and later he moved to Hale Mohalu.
Kay Inglis said it is gratifying to see the goal for more affordable housing realized after so many years of work that included the efforts by her two friends.
“It’s been a real journey,” she said. “It’s a big miracle.”
Development costs total $130 million for the two recently completed buildings plus the third building that just broke ground. The fourth building is projected to cost $29.4 million.
Of the $130 million, the state’s Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. provided $122 million through a combination of tax credits, loans and revenue bonds. Another $7.5 million was provided by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development through the City and County of Honolulu.
Project financing ensures that rents will remain affordable for 61 years.
The 163 recently completed units are reserved for seniors who earn no more than 60 percent of Honolulu’s annual median income. That equates to $41,160 for a single person or $47,040 for two people.
Some units also are reserved for seniors making no more than 50 percent or 30 percent of the median income.
Monthly rent for the one-bedroom units with about 432 square feet range from $550 for the lowest income level up to $995 a month.
Tenants have yet to move in because some certification work still needs to be completed. Bronze placards with the names of Punikai‘a and Naia also have yet to be installed on the buildings.
Prudential Locations is handling the leasing and management of the units, some of which are still available.
The next building is being built with two- and three-bedroom units expected to rent for $552 to $1,350. Completion is expected by the end of next year.
