WEBVTT

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Today on Pau Hana Years,
our guest is Paul Tomar,

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supervising attorney of the
Legal Aid Society's Senior Citizen Unit.

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Paul, representatives of the
Legal Aid Society have been

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on the program many times before,
but this is the first time

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I've heard of the senior citizen unit.

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Well Bob, the Senior Citizens Unit
is the newest unit of Legal Aid Society.

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It was formed about a year ago
in recognition of the fact

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that the legal aid really wasn't meeting
the particular legal needs

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of senior citizens.

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We had many other various units,
but senior citizens,

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if they came in at all, they had to fit
within the various other units.

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So the Senior Citizens Unit
was formed particularly for their needs.

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I'm sure there are many who do not
completely understand the purpose

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and the function
of the Legal Aid Society itself.

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Well, the Legal Aid Society is a law firm
like any other law firm.

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We have about 36 attorneys statewide,
offices on all the outer islands,

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two here on Oʻahu.

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We are broken down into specialty units.
As I said, I'm in the Senior Citizens Unit.

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We also have a unit specializing
in Native Hawaiian land rights,

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welfare problems, consumer,
housing, health, various other types

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of legal problems.

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But Legal Aid, though,
is a federally-funded program.

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We also get money from the state,
but it's for people whose incomes

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fall below a certain guideline,
so it's not for everyone.

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However, last year we did see
10,000 people walk in the door,

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and there are many more out there
who are still eligible.

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So our guidelines include a lot
of people in the State of Hawaiʻi.

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Do senior citizens need as much legal aid
as other age groups?

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Well, yes, I feel that they
perhaps need more legal help

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than all the other age groups combined.

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The main reason is because all
of the basic needs of senior citizens

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are superimposed with very complex federal
and state regulations,

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more so than any other age group.

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For instance, under income maintenance,
one of the very basic needs,

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most elderly persons depend completely
either on pension retirement plans,

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Social Security, Veterans Administration
benefits, supplemental security income...