Friday, June 5, 2009

Deplorable Public Housing

Television, radio and print news coverage, beginning in December 2008 exposed the deplorable state of Hawaii’s public housing. Tenants have been forced to endure long periods without hot water, broken garbage disposal systems, leaking plumbing, filthy and slippery stairwells,vermin infestation and the lack of any fire protection equipment. Particularly troublesome are the violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Disabled residents of Kuhio Park Terrace (KPT) and other projects cannot get to and from their units on many occasions because of constant elevator failures. Some areas in their own apartments are inaccessible to them because they are in wheelchairs. They are consistently denied their rights to reasonable accommodations required to lead productive lives. To see for yourself, go to http://www.youtube.com/user/hphslums to see a 3-minute video or http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5236316/13821094 to see a longer 14-minute documentary.

Residents of Hawaii's public housing need your support to ensure that the housing they are paying for is safe, sanitary and accessible. Please call the Governor’s Office at 586-0034 and let her know that it is time to end this disgrace by ordering the critical repairs and improvements to be immediately made. You can also support the cause by checking out this Facebook link and adding us as a friend: http://www.facebook.com/people/HawaiiPublic-HousingSlums/1683604586.


Mahalo,

Victor Geminiani, Executive Director
Lawyers for Equal Justice

For more information about Lawyers for Equal Justice, please visit www.lejhawaii.org

No comments: