Fran spent her life caring for her family, raising children and later adopting and raising her grandchildren. For years, her home in Kahaluʻu was a place of love, shared with her father and generations of ʻohana.
But after her father passed, everything changed.
"I went to the doctor's. I come home. The house doors are lock. They're changed. My son changed all the locks in the house. So I couldn't get in."
"I called the cops, told them I live here, you know, I need to get in the house."
"But he told the cops, ‘I’m not wanted there anymore. I gotta leave.’”
“I didn’t know what to do, where to go... I ended up being homeless.”
Fran spent nights in parks and beach lots. Through it all, her youngest son stayed by her side.
Today, Fran lives at Alana Ola Pono, a kauhale village in Iwilei, built on community, compassion, and care for our most vulnerable neighbors.
"I live here at the kauhale now, and it's awesome."
"The people that work here treat you like family. The people that live here treat you like family. You cannot go wrong."
"You guys are doing such a great job. You're helping so much people. You don't know how much you're helping us. You don't know how much you touch our lives. Thank you."
Kūpuna like Fran deserve more than just a roof. They deserve belonging, respect, and a true sense of family. We need to take care of our ʻohana.
