The oldest adult care home in the state is asking its residents to pitch in more money to keep the facility afloat.

Lunalilo Home in Hawai'i Kai recently asked its 37 residents to provide documentation proving they have no other assets or income that could help pay for their care.

Families of the seniors are being asked to pay $3,600 a month — if they can. Currently, only three residents at the home pay that much, administrators say.

The rest pay as little as $1,200 a month.

Keahi Allen, one of two trustees of the home, stressed that no one will be evicted if they can't pay more.

"No one is getting kicked out," Allen said. "But if we continue to not try and get as much from these families (as possible) ... we'll close these doors."

Meanwhile, one family disputes Allen's assertion, and says they were told to come up with more money — or move their elderly mother somewhere else.

George Stender Jr., said he was told that if the family can't pay $3,600 a month, then his 86-year-old mother will have to move out of the home. Caroline Stender has lived at Lunalilo Home for five years.

George Stender added that the family was given the option to appeal to the board of trustees, which they will do.

Stender said his mother gets just over $1,400 a month in Social Security and retirement benefits, all of which goes to Lunalilo Home.

He also said the family can't pitch in any more.

"My mom doesn't have any assets at all," he said.

Lunalilo Home was founded in 1883, under the terms of King William Charles Lunalilo's will, which required all its residents to be Native Hawaiians.

The facility opened near Roosevelt High School, then moved to its current 5-acre location in 1927.

In recent years, the home has tried myriad strategies to stay afloat amid rising medical costs and declining revenues.

"Lunalilo Care Home is very unique because it is trying to address the need within the Hawaiian community," said John McDermott, state long-term-care ombudsman. "Still, they've had financial problems on and off."

The care home industry in Hawai'i serves more than 2,500 elderly people, and some charge upward of $8,000 a month to give seniors a sense of quasi-independence, keeping them out of a nursing facility and in a home-like setting with 24-hour assistance. Most care homes charge about $2,500 a month, industry experts say.

There are no state rules regulating fees for residential care homes, most of which are licensed to serve only five people.

Allen said Lunalilo Home operates off the interest from the Lunalilo trust and revenues.

She said it loses about $500,000 a year.

The home recently started daycare and respite programs to generate more money, but those have only gone so far. The facility also has had difficulty getting steady grant funding for its programs.

The state Office of Hawaiian Affairs gave the care home a one-time grant of $300,000 in fiscal year 2006 for program services. This year, the facility got $24,999 from OHA for emergency repairs.

Care homes, especially those for low- or middle-income seniors, often review residents' finances before they move in to determine whether they have untapped assets. Many homes also conduct periodic reviews of a senior's finances to see whether anything has changed.

"It behooves us to review their circumstances," Allen said. "It really is a review of their expenses and their assets to see if they're holding back."

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.