“We watched Hōkūleʻa come in from up here,” explains the home’s owner, Allene Uesugi. “All of us came up here to watch.” Allene Uesugi is an on-call Recruitment Specialist with our Hui Hoʻomalu program. A Kalihi native, she is also a veteran Resource Caregiver of over 30 years.

Resource Caregivers provide safe, healthy, and nurturing environments for children who have been removed from their family homes. The children can be any age, from infants to 18 year-olds. The ultimate goal of fostering children is to reunite them with their families.

“The saying, ‘It takes a village to raise a child,’ rings true for children in foster care,” says Stephanie Helbush. Stephanie is the Project Director for Hui Hoʻomalu, our program that recruits, screens, processes, trains, licenses, and supports Resource Families. The wide array of services means there are several staff like Allene, who works part-time and on-call.

Allene has been with Hui Hoʻomalu for several years and has fostered over 300 keiki from all walks of life here in Hawaiʻi nei. Her three biological children were already grown and out of the house when she decided to become a Resource Caregiver. Allene says she missed having children around her house and felt a divine pull to become a foster parent.

She and her husband, Arthur, served as an ’emergency shelter’ for foster children for many years. They would take in any child at any hour, day or night, understanding the urgency and need for such selfless families. Allene had to stop the ’emergency shelter’ designation after Arthur’s untimely death from a heart attack nearly a decade ago.

Allene says she thought she knew everything about parenting, but that by opening her home to foster children she has learned so much more. Allene states that it’s important for both the keiki and their Resource Caregivers to understand that where the children are is not their fault — it’s circumstances beyond their control and the Resource Caregivers are there to do whatever they can to help.

“All these kids need is a jump start. They need somebody to pull them along until they can get really fired up and continue on,” Allene says. “It will take a Resource Caregiver to help them know how important they are.”

Kanani Moananu is a 29 year-old who works in Kapolei. She went into the foster care system at the age of 12 before coming into Allene and Arthur’s home. Kanani describes how important it was for her, and is for every foster child, to feel loved when they come into a stranger’s home.

“If you’re taking the time or the step to actually expand your family, knowing that these are not your biological kids… these kids that are considered ‘foster’ are actually kids that’s looking for love, a safe home, a family that they can be part of and not feel like an outsider. And that’s what I found with Mom Allene and Dad Arthur.”

Kanani is one of the lucky ones. Too often keiki “age out” of foster care: when they turn 18, they are expected to move out and find housing, jobs, transportation — despite many of these young people still being in high school. Young adults who age out of the system are much more at risk for not finishing high school, experiencing homelessness, drug abuse, and incarceration.

Besides the physical effects, former foster children — and especially those who age out — often experience a number of emotional and psychological issues. 25% of keiki who age out are said to experience direct effects of PTSD.

For Kanani, she says she “broke the wheel” that both sides of her family have been spinning for generations. She was the first in three generations to graduate high school. Kanani explains that while she respects her family and honors the decisions they make for themselves, ‘their path’ wasn’t for her.

Nearly 50% of the keiki in foster care in Hawaiʻi are Native Hawaiian. The importance of finding Native Hawaiian families cannot be understated. These families help the keiki on a cultural level — adjusting to foster care is difficult enough.

But there is still an open need for any loving family. Some groups, like older children and teenagers or larger sibling groups are especially difficult to place. Many people might be apprehensive about bringing a teenager into their home, or suddenly finding four children running around, but the need is there. A common phrase at Hui Hoʻomalu goes,, “You don’t have to be perfect to be a perfect parent. There are thousands of teens in foster care who would love to put up with you.”

Becoming a Resource Caregiver may seem like a daunting task, but there are so many organizations that are here to support you at every step of the process. Our Hui Hoʻomalu program partners with local organizations like Family Programs Hawaiʻi and Catholic Charities to provide ongoing support and retention services.

“We need folks to give the gift of foster care, and call us to see if this is something you can do for our youth,” said Stephanie. These children are not able to be in their home environment and desperately need a place to call home during this difficult time.

Allene gets emotional when she talks about the foster children that have come through her doors. From infants to college-age, every one of them has had an impact on her life and how she sees the world. To her, becoming a Resource Caregiver is one of the most important decisions someone can make.

“Open your heart. We always have that saying: ‘one heart, one mind, one breath is the aloha way’. To keep our families together you have to embrace them. We have that same ʻohana. It’s not just our ʻohana. People outside of our ʻohana is ʻohana. People in need is ‘ohana.”

When asked if she had a message for people thinking about becoming a Resource Caregiver, Allene had one thing to say:

“You can make an impact on a life. You just have to want to do it.

Our Hui Hoʻomalu foster care licensing program is putting on numerous events across the Islands all month long. From sign waving events, info sessions, to free family movie nights, Hui Hoʻomalu is working to inform the public about the importance of fostering children.

There are over 1,500 keiki in foster care in Hawaiʻi nei. Over 50% of these kids are Native Hawaiian, highlighting a real need for Resource Caregivers who understand Hawaiian culture and values, and can make the transitions in foster care that much easier on children in need.

Every foster child needs a loving home! Contact our Hui Hoʻomalu program today to find out how you can get involved, from volunteering to becoming a fully licensed Resource Caregiver. Their contact information is listed below.

Make sure to follow Hui Hoʻomalu’s Facebook page! There, they announce their latest community events.

We here at Partners in Development Foundation hope you will use the resources this month to consider helping a child in need — become a Resource Caregiver!

Hui Hoʻomalu offices:
Oʻahu: (808) 441-1117
Kauaʻi: (808) 346-8184
Maui/ Lanaʻi/ Molokaʻi: (808) 268-5122
West Hawaiʻi Island: (808) 896-3829
East Hawaiʻi Island: (808) 987-5988
Neighbor Island toll free: (888) 879-8970
Email: hui@pidfoundation.org

Over 2,000 people came out to the event for some “non-scary non-scandalous” fun. This year there were food trucks, horses, carnival rides, face painting, free flu shots and of course, games. Hui Hoʻomalu had their own game for keiki at their booth, and information on foster care for parents and other caregivers.

“We’re here tonight at this festival because it’s a family event,” said Cindy Holloway, a Recruitment Assistant and trainer with Hui Hoʻomalu. “What we’re looking for is families that can take in children who need… a temporary home for them when they can’t be their own family.”

Despite it being the night of fright, the event’s “non-scary” aspect extended to foster care. A resource caregiver (foster parent) herself, Cindy, along with Community Liaison Carol Hayashida, had plenty of information and advice to offer potential resource families.

Hui Hoʻomalu was created to help enhance and advance Hawaiʻi’s foster care system. This program recruits, trains, and assesses families who wish to become “General Licensed” resource caregivers — those who foster children not related to them.

For more information on how to help keiki in need and becoming a Resource Caregiver, visit the main program page here.

Whether they stayed for a couple months or even more than a year, Allene and her husband understood that each child was not in their situation by choice but rather circumstance. Together, with their loving and caring hearts, Allene and her husband provided the love, nurture, and support each of their children desperately needed at such a fragile point in their life.

We are looking for more Resource Caregivers like Allene. The need for foster care in Hawaiʻi is great, and you can help make a difference. Please take a look at our Hui Hoʻomalu website to learn more about how you can get involved today.

There are more than 1,300 children in the state of Hawaii alone that are waiting for someone to provide the love and support that they desperately need as such a critical point in their life. Our staff is committed to walk alongside you to help you complete the process so that you can give a foster child the opportunity to have a better life.

Remember: you don’t have to be the perfect parent to be a resource caregiver. There are many foster children that would love the privilege to be a part of your family. The beginning of your journey and love story awaits. Visit our website to learn how you can help make a difference today.

“We don’t know why,” they replied in our recent interview. “Some days we think we’re crazy, but then, deep down, we know the man upstairs has this in his plan for us. It’s part of our destiny, our purpose, to help these kids.” (more…)