“We have four generations living on one property. From a one-year-old to an eighty-seven-year- old, there’s 18 of us under one roof,” she shared. 

Multigenerational homes are common in Hawaiʻi, and for some neighboring island communities where access to resources and services aren’t always readily available, having a Covid-19 outbreak at home could be life-threatening. 

In an effort to bridge the gap, PIDF kickstarted Hoʻopalekana Ola (to strengthen and defend life), an initiative through the Department of Health’s Hawaiʻi Pacific Health Institute (HIPHI) Cares Grant. Once the grant was contracted, the Hoʻopalekana Ola team wasted no time.

“PIDF has never been afraid to jump to the frontline of our community’s needs. In our 25 years, we have served over 128,000 family members in more than 50 communities. Where there is a call for support, we try to respond to our lāhui however best we can,” said Shawn Kanaʻiaupuni, PIDF President and CEO.  

Hoʻopalekana Ola HIPHI Cares Program Manager, Perlas Bardouche, previously managed the Open Arms Harbor Isolation-quarantine facility that PIDF opened during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020 through March of 2021. She is supported by team members with vast experience in health care. 

When the HIPHI contracted team began its outreach efforts, the recent Covid-19 outbreak on Molokaʻi seemed like the right place to start. Hoʻopalekana Ola partnered with Tūtū and Me Traveling Preschool to set up booths at the Molokaʻi Island Foundation’s Molokaʻi Drug-Free Movement event, which hosted local vendors and speakers to share more about their community-strengthening stories, services and programming.

During the event, Hoʻopalekana Ola met with local residents, distributed hundreds of free at-home Covid-19 test kits, provided safety guidelines and resources, and shared more about upcoming education programs like the Global Biorisk Advisory Council certification, a course to prepare for, respond to and recover from biohazards in our community spaces.

The Hoʻopalekana Ola team also connected with members at the Molokaʻi General Hospital, Molokaʻi Community Health Center, and local retailers. They were greeted by smiles as residents recognized PIDFʻs kalo logo.

“Are you with Tūtū and Me?” The Molokaʻi residents asked, and shared stories about attending Tūtū and Me or the people they knew (if not themselves!) who worked with Tūtū and Me. 

The small-town island community has been home to a Tūtū and Me Traveling Preschool for over 15 years. Hoʻopalekana Ola is partnering with other PIDF programs like Tūtū and Me and Ka Paʻalana that serve neighbor island communities and are trusted by their local residents, many of whom live in multi-generational homes. 

For households with ʻohana ranging from keiki to kūpuna, access to Covid-19 at-home test kits and knowledge about infectious disease control, and knowing what to do when someone at home is exposed or tests positive, will prepare families and save lives. 

While society at large transitions into a post-pandemic world, rural communities are vulnerable to the detrimental impacts of Covid-19 with fewer medical resources, hospital beds, and physicians. 

“Coronavirus is here to stay, so we’re committed to helping our communities navigate in the safest and healthiest way. We want our ʻohana to survive and thrive,” said Bardouche. 

That’s why PIDF is committed to strengthening ʻohana and to seeing that our communities are healthy and sustainable.

Watch the discussion with Nāʻālehu Anthony, Director of COVID Pau, Juanita Nalani Benioni, of the Center for Native Hawaiian Traditional Healing at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and Dr. Gerard Akaka, V.P. of Native Hawaiian Affairs & Clinical Support at Queen’s Health Systems Internal Medicine.

Watch the entire discussion here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/civilcafenovember

For more Covid related resources and information, go to pidf.org/covidresponse

The Partners in Development Foundation recently received a $10,000 grant from Hawaiian Electric to continue the Resilience Hub in Kohala, a project under the Pili a Pa‘a program that provides a safe space for keiki who are doing distance learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic and whose caregivers are unable to supervise them.

The project launched in September 2020 and successfully allowed children to participate in distance learning and parents to re-enter the workforce.

The Resilience Hub prioritized assisting Kohala school complex teachers who do not have access to affordable or reliable child care for their children who have to continue distance or hybrid learning. The project supported teachers and other parents, largely in the service industry, to work instead of taking a leave of absence to care for their children.

“Kohala does not have a large pool of teacher candidates or substitute teachers, so the schools would have been short-handed and may not have been able to provide quality education to the students,” said Ross Pagat, Pili A Pa‘a community school manager.

When online schooling is done for the day, Resilience Hub staff coordinate extracurricular activities such as archery, gardening, cooking and 3-D printing.

The project also promotes more than just emotional and physical health; the hub allows for keiki in the community to socialize, problem solve, follow instructions and learn ways to give back to their families.

Not only that, but the Resilience Hub served as a center for adults who needed help getting connected with services that dealt with alcohol and drug recovery.

The grant enabled the project to continue this work of connecting and assisting Kohala community members with critical services.

The Partners in Development Foundation is a nonprofit public charity that inspires and equips families and communities for success and service, using timeless Native Hawaiian values and traditions.

For additional information or to learn more about the Partners in Development Foundation and Resilience Hub, get online and visit pidf.org.

Josie Howard

Executive Director,
We Are Oceania

During surges of COVID-19 in the Islands last year, Jocelyn “Josie” Howard and another We Are Oceania staff member took food, masks, dignity bags and other personal necessities to more than 100 Pacific Islander families every month.

Then the nonprofit added staff and increased donations to more than 200 food boxes and 600 hot meals every week.

The efforts were just Howard’s latest in a lifetime spent supporting her fellow Micronesians in Hawai‘i – who at times throughout last year suffered more than a quarter of all confirmed coronavirus cases while being just 4% of the local population.

“I believe this is my calling and my purpose,” Howard says. “From a young age I left home and sacrificed a lot to be educated so that I can learn how to care for my community.”

Howard says she left her Chuuk home on Onoun Island, in the Namonweito Atoll, at 13 for high school on another Micronesian island; at 20 she came to Hawai‘i for advanced college, hoping to train as a physician and then take her expertise home.

But with no hospital or electricity on her island, she rethought her plan and decided to focus on making life better for Micronesians who had come to Hawai‘i seeking better jobs, health care and lives.

“There was such a great need for service providers to understand how to work specifically with our people, and we realized at the same time that our people needed help to navigate the system.”

Howard has also worked in Department of Education schools as a cultural resource for Pacific Islander students and families, and also at Goodwill Industries. Her community often turns to her for help.

“Navigation is not only for the ocean, it’s for life,” she explains. “You navigate the currents of life. My grandfather told me that to be home, and to be able to be whole, you have to be palu: a master navigator in navigating life. At home they know how to navigate, but when they come here they don’t, so having a onestop is a start.”

That’s what We Are Oceania has become: a one-stop center that guides Pacific Islanders through whatever needs or concerns they have.

Lillian Segal, who serves on We Are Oceania’s board, says Howard is a constant source of inspiration.

“I’m always learning from Josie,” writes Segal in an email. “Josie is a strong, compassionate and dedicated leader who works tirelessly for her community on a daily basis.”

For some, it’s not easy to isolate or quarantine after being exposed to or testing positive for Covid-19. In Hawaiʻi, the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities are the hardest hit by the virus, largely because many ʻohana live in multigenerational homes.

That’s why the Partners in Development Foundation partnered with the Department of Health to minimize the impact and spread of Covid-19 with Open Arms Harbor, an iso-qurantine hotel that provides a safe and compassionate place for healing, with staff who perform daily wellness checks, meals, and case management care to connect guests with resources within the community.

To support our efforts or for more information on Covid-19 response and resources, visit our Covid Response page. Mahalo nui for your support in helping us create healthy and resilient communities.

Original post can be found on KHON2’s Living808 segment, khon2.com/living-808/health-living-808/unsung-health-heroes-help-covid-positive-people-through-quarantine-isolation/

by: Tannya Joaquin Posted: Dec 16, 2020 / 03:07 PM HST / Updated: Dec 16, 2020 / 03:44 PM HSTjavascript:false

Honolulu (KHON2) – A Hawaii man who tested positive for COVID shared how the Department of Health Isolation and Quarantine Program and Partners in Development Foundation helped him and his wife through the trying health battle.

Paul Kuoha quarantined November 10th – 19th at Harbor Arms. “I lived in a community church home when I tested positive for COVID,” explains Kuoha. “I was unable to isolate properly. When I contracted COVID from work, I self-isolated in a tent in front of my home. It was a very lonely and difficult experience, and that’s when the church connected me with Harbor Arms.”

He adds that the mental side effects were a challenge, saying, “At first, I was angry and I didn’t want to go. But I didn’t want to risk infecting my loved ones, so when I arrived they prepped me with some informational packets that suggested I stay offline from watching too much news and just focus on my health, they just made sure I was comfortable. My wife was in the room upstairs and during our meal times, we would zoom call each other. It made all the difference that the staff made this happen and helped us.”

Dr. Shawn Malia Kana‘iaupuni, President and CEO, Partners in Development Foundation explained how the program works. “The Department of Health partnered with the City and County to provide intake and support services for isolation and quarantine, including the use of over 300 hotel rooms in Honolulu,” says Kana‘iaupuni. “This is for people who are unable to isolate due to their living conditions or other constraints. DOH provides case management and wrap-around services to support families and individuals who need resources and social services during their 14-day isolation or quarantine.”

“I learned that Covid is no joke,” shares Kuoha. “It can be really scary and really lonely to go through this process and even more to not infect anybody else. But I learned there are really amazing people and organizations that truly care about keeping us safe.”

Kana‘iaupuni adds, “ I’ve learned how sharply this pandemic has affected our mental health, especially for those in isolation or quarantine. I’ve also been reminded that vulnerable populations, particularly non-English speaking population and large families with children, need extra support in order to complete a successful quarantine.”

If you or someone you know is struggling, please call Hawai‘i CARES at 1-800-753-6879 or text ALOHA to 741741, available 24/7. Caring, local staff are standing by to provide help during isolation and quarantine, crisis support, mental health resources, and substance use treatment services to anyone who need

To learn more visit: https://hawaiicovid19.com/testing-isolation-quarantine/

To learn more about Partners in Development https://pidf.org/

Tucked between two churches in Kalihi, running alongside North King Street and Kanoa street, is an easy-to-miss building where Micronesians and Pacific Islanders go for help.

Since the spread of the pandemic in Hawaiʻi, the We Are Oceania office became stacks of donation boxes, echoes of helpline phone calls rattling the cubicle dividers, shuffles of community members’ paperwork, and a whirlwind of five different spoken Pacific Island languages.

The Micronesian and Pacific Island community of Hawaiʻi has been the hardest hit by Coronavirus. State data reported that Pacific Islanders account for 27% of Hawaiʻi’s coronavirus cases, yet only 4% of the state population. It’s no wonder WAO became a recipient of the City and County of Honolulu Coronavirus Relief Fund. The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation administered the commitment of up to $2 million from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The high percentage of coronavirus cases among the Micronesian and Pacific Islander community is due in part to the lack of accessibility for them. That’s when WAO decided to take the lead in addressing these issues. For individuals interested in receiving support, WAO will be providing the following personalized support:

• Helpline
  • Live helpline open daily from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
  • Available in five Pacific languages
  • Reachable at (808) 913-1364
• Culturally and linguistically-tailored COVID-19 education and awareness efforts
• Assisting individuals and their families in accessing state quarantine and isolation facilities, training, testing and contact tracing
• Social service support in housing, health, food, supplies, and other needs

What’s more, is the community and media’s unending support to get these resources known and available. WAO has since produced Public Service Announcements that have been airing on TV and various social media platforms in five different Pacific Island languages.

“Our collective community efforts will hopefully help to slow down the spread of the virus statewide and bridge the gap between available resources and who has access to them,” said Josie Howard, We Are Oceania Program Director. 

Before the pandemic hit, the one-stop-Micronesian center has been providing services such as language access, health connections, pre-employment training, and service referrals from federal, state and local government resources.

Though the WAO team of very few juggles many hats, they’ve worked day in and day out, hustling between meetings and gathering donations, their mission remains true: to serve, support, and stand with the many voices of Oceania while honoring the integrity of their diverse heritage.

To donate, collaborate, or other ways to support WAO, visit weareoceania.org or call (808) 754-7303.

From August 1st, Ka Paʻalana sites will enhance their online services and prepare for reopening with modifications on November 1st, 2020. The enhanced online services will include implementing online intake for new families, taking regular parent surveys online, and a possible expansion of the Wifi Mobile project among other measures.

Anticipated modifications from November 1st include stocking adequate PPE and cleaning supplies for all sites, determining capacity with respect to social distancing measures, following the latest DHS guidelines, and more.

Ka Paʻalana staff have been utilizing ClassDojo for preschool and parenting classes four days a week since March 30th, and their weekly Kokua Kit distribution recently extended to Kauaʻi.

For more information, contact the Ka Paʻalana office at (808) 596-8711.