Real People, Real Stories: Summerlyn

EAH Housing provides apartment homes to people from all walks of life - from working families to seniors, students, veterans, and the formerly homeless. These are a few of their stories:

It was almost five years ago when Summerlyn and her six children left their home in Honolulu to get away from domestic violence. She had been married to her husband for ten years, and in a relationship with him for eighteen, but Summerlyn knew that she needed to leave for her own safety and that of her children’s.

For two years, Summerlyn and her family lived on the island without a permanent home. At first, she and the children lived at a local “90-day shelter,” which only allows residents to stay for that amount of time. They then moved to Waimanalo, where they lived until Summerlyn came across Kukui Gardens, an affordable housing community operated by EAH Housing.

Starting a new life has not been easy for this native Hawaiian family, but they are all proud of how far they have come since leaving. Summerlyn is especially proud that two of her three teenagers were accepted and enrolled at the Kamehameha School, which was initially founded by Bernice Pauahi Bishop for the purpose of ensuring native Hawaiians had access to a strong education.

And, after sending out almost 100 job applications, Summerlyn received an offer from the Honolulu Police Department where she became a clerk typist. Since that time, she has moved into the role of a fingerprint identification technician, and even dreams of going back to college one day to train as a nurse.

Summerlyn and all of her children consider themselves extremely fortunate to have found Kukui Gardens and continue to be inspired by their community each day.

Read more inspiring stories on the EAH Housing website.

Originally posted at EAHHousingBlog.wordpress.com