Norine Tuck lived in Kapilina Beach Homes in ʻEwa when the Red Hill crisis began 18 months ago.
As a civilian, she didn’t know her home was hooked up to water lines affected by the jet fuel contamination in November 2021, when some of the military's fuel supply seeped into publicly consumed water.
"They were assuring us that we weren't on Navy lines and that everything was fine," Tuck said. "(They said), 'Go ahead, you know, you can use the water, but out of an abundance of caution you might not want to.' And that went on for weeks."
Since then, Tuck has suffered from severe migraines and her daughter is hypersensitive to water.
"It took a while for us to get the care and testing that we needed," she recalled.
Earlier this year, the military opened the Red Hill Clinic to help those with long-term health issues that may be linked to the initial jet fuel exposures in 2021. It first opened for military families affected, and in the last few months has opened to civilian families.
Tuck, as well as other families, don’t want to put their trust or their health back in the hands of the military.
"I wouldn't dare go there, and I don't know any civilians who have or would go there because it took so long for even civilians to be believed that we were affected by area hospitals," Tuck said.
"It took a while for us to get the care and testing that we needed, and the military made so many promises and has not really followed through on those promises," she said.
Tuck shared her story last week at a Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi press conference held with the Los Angeles-based advocacy group COMMUNITYx.
Chloe Cheyenne, who traveled with the group, said they're trying to drum up support with a broader audience.
"The main focus today is to highlight the experiences of families that have been directly impacted by this issue medically, financially in every way so that they have a platform to share their experiences," Cheyenne said.
The group has been calling for more accountability of the military and has worked to raise money to assist families with medical debt.
The military recently moved up its timeline to defuel the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility to October, but some still don’t think that’s enough.
Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi Director Wayne Tanaka said the pain continues.
"It's so important that we continue to share these stories (and) let people know that this crisis isn't over, it's far from over," Tanaka said.
