{"id":8327,"date":"2022-07-21T14:38:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T00:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/?p=8327"},"modified":"2022-07-28T14:38:39","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T00:38:39","slug":"native-hawaiian-centered-approach-helps-youth-heal-and-become-healers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/native-hawaiian-centered-approach-helps-youth-heal-and-become-healers\/","title":{"rendered":"Native Hawaiian-centered approach helps youth heal and become healers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em><em>Original story published on Every Child Thrives on July 21, 2022\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/everychildthrives.com\/native-hawaiian-centered-approach-helps-youth-heal-and-become-healers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">click here to read<\/a><\/em><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>When teens and young adults first walk onto the fields of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pidf.org\/kupaaina\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kupa \u02bbAina Natural Farm<\/a>, Zachary Huang doesn\u2019t expect much from them. He knows it could be days before they talk or show any interest in the 5-acre farm that sits high on the hills of O\u02bbahu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He doesn\u2019t push. He knows they need space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the time they reach Kupa \u02bbAina, these youth have been in survival mode for most of their lives. They\u2019ve been caught up in a series of broken systems that have left many generations of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) in an enduring cycle of poverty and trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To break that cycle, the State of Hawai\u02bbi joined forces with the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pidf.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Partners in Development Foundation<\/a>&nbsp;in 2020 to create an alternative to the state\u2019s youth incarceration system and provide them with the community support so many of them never had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To this end, the state partnered with several nonprofits to form an assembly called, Opportunity Youth Action Hawai\u02bbi (OYAH), to offer wraparound services at the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kamakakoi.com\/kawailoa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 the 500-acre campus that is home to Kupa \u02bbAina Farm, the Hawai\u2019i Youth Correctional Facility and a number of other youth service providers. The growing group of partners that make up OYAH are dedicated to using Hawaiian knowledge and cultural practices to help youth heal and find their way forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Partners in Development Foundation Selected as Finalist for Racial Equity 2030 Challenge\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0Cyzfx5SfUE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong><em>\u201cA lot of the youth that we work with might be in their 20s, but they&#8217;ve been on the streets since they were 13 or 14,\u201d says Huang, program director of Kupa \u02bbAina Farm. \u201cThey can\u2019t put down their survival coping mechanisms until they\u2019re no longer concerned about food, water or shelter.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>So, Huang waits. When they start to play in the fields, Huang knows they are ready to listen, to start talking about the hard things, to begin the process of healing from trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou have to meet them where they\u2019re at,\u201d says Huang. \u201cYou can\u2019t force them to be somewhere or to do something. That would just re-traumatize them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For some participating youth, the farm offers a chance to heal and thrive that does not rest in a 4 x 8-foot cell at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility or out on the streets. That chance is at the heart of Kawailoa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wkkf.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">W.K. Kellogg Foundation<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/racialequity2030.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Racial Equity 2030<\/a>\u00a0challenge, OYAH proposes a bold, multi-year initiative to end youth incarceration in Hawai\u02bbi by 2030, replacing it with cultural and therapeutic programs aimed at healing.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/everychildthrives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/KYFWC-OYAH-partners-copy.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Situation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are disproportionately represented in the youth justice system. They face hurdles unimaginable to other teens and young adults in Hawai\u02bbi, experiencing the highest rates of involvement in foster care, child welfare, mental health services, special education and family court. Many are invisible in their own communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Native Hawaiian youth:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Represent 47% of all minors in the state who do not have a place to call home;<\/li><li>Comprise one-third of the state\u2019s youth population but over half of the youth in the prison system;<\/li><li>Account for more than half of those transitioning into adulthood from foster care, often with no place to go;<\/li><li>Are three times less likely than non-Hispanic Whites to receive mental health services;<\/li><li>Are often vulnerable to and often die by suicide \u2013 it is the leading cause of death for this age group.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>They receive longer sentences for petty crimes and are more likely to experience substance abuse, trauma, loss of loved ones, broken relationships, depression, human trafficking and economic instability. The services meant to support them are fragmented and hard to access due to frustrating barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Different Approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>That is why OYAH centers on supporting youth with aloha, which confers love, compassion and equity, allowing them to heal and to find purpose and meaning. Aloha is much more than a greeting. It is a practice. And, for Native Hawaiians, aloha is a deeply generative force that leads to equality and mutual respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kawailoa houses state agencies and community-run programs on campus. As part of OYAH, partners cultivate an ecosystem of support to provide reciprocal learning between youth and adults, as well as housing, workforce training, employment, and trauma-informed care for young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OYAH works intensely to serve roughly 300 young people a year and plans to double that number to 600 as it expands partnerships across the state. The group focuses on NHPI and BIPOC youth ages 14-24, teaching them to embody aloha and become healers, so they can give back to the community.<br>\u201cThese are the kids who fall through the cracks,\u201d says Carla Houser, executive director for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rysehawaii.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Residential Youth Services &amp; Empowerment<\/a>&nbsp;(RYSE), one of the non-profit partners, which helps homeless young adults find temporary housing. \u201cThey\u2019ve either aged out of foster care or have been kicked out of their family home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hawai\u02bbi has the second highest population of youth in the country experiencing homelessness yet little access to services like those offered at Kawailoa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe [RYSE] were running a drop-in center in Waik\u012bk\u012b, providing all these amazing services,\u201d says Houser. \u201cBut every day at six o\u2019clock, we would close the doors and send these kids back out onto the street.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That changed when RYSE started its on-campus program at Kawailoa. The program puts a roof over youths\u2019 heads and offers them a chance at stability. It is an example of the support that NHPI youth need to begin to heal. Offering a place of belonging improves their ability to move forward and pursue their dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Houser understands what young Native Hawaiians are up against. \u201cTwenty years ago, I lived this life,\u201d she says. \u201cThe only reason I got out was because I had trusting adults who didn\u2019t judge me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-28-at-2.36.23-PM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8329\" width=\"650\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-28-at-2.36.23-PM.png 820w, https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-28-at-2.36.23-PM-600x299.png 600w, https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-28-at-2.36.23-PM-768x383.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Journey Toward Healing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/everychildthrives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/Kupa-%CA%BBAina_Machijah-ps3pi96l5u42e6twqwrz1kchg2qnk0876mpjgnmvo8.png\" alt=\"Kupa \u02bbAina_Machijah\" width=\"-107\" height=\"-135\" title=\"Kupa \u02bbAina_Machijah\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Machijah\u2019s journey is evidence that the plan is working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Close to two years ago, Machijah, who has spent much of his young life shuttling from home to home, was placed on campus at RYSE. He started his healing process by working four hours a day, two days a week. As he progressed, Houser helped him secure a full-time internship through a partner agency. Kupa \u02bbAina Farm hired him and helped him establish stable housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s been with us almost one and a half years now,\u201d says Huang. \u201cHe now helps his mother and his girlfriend. I\u2019ve seen this again and again. Once these youth stabilize, they start to thrive. And they turn outwards to help their friends, their families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Hawaiian proverb, shared by Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui, states: \u201cM\u014dhala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua,\u201d meaning, \u201cunfolded by the water are the faces of the flowers.\u201d This is interpreted as, flowers thrive where there is water, as thriving children are found where living conditions are good. Like so, OYAH provides the conditions for young people to blossom. In the process, they are breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty and incarceration. \u201cThey become conduits to change the family dynamic,\u201d says Houser. \u201cThey work with us to become healers within their families and within the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Game-Changing Solution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>OYAH aims to increase well-being for young people and reduce disparities for NHPI communities and others disproportionately impacted by the justice system. By 2030, OYAH will:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>End youth incarceration in Hawai\u02bbi, replacing the punitive corrections system with cultural restorative programs<\/li><li>Double the number of youth participating in Kawailoa campus programming from 300 to 600<\/li><li>Build a statewide network of care for justice-involved youth across island communities, organizations and agencies<\/li><li>Establish a residential mental health treatment center in Hawai\u02bbi<\/li><li>Elevate the state\u2019s youth as racial equity leaders<\/li><li>Generate a worldwide movement to replace youth incarceration with Indigenous healing practices<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cToday, there are more Native Hawaiians in L.A. County than in Maui,\u201d says Houser. \u201cIf we don\u2019t create these supports, we\u2019ll continue to see an exodus of young people who belong here. When they leave, we lose the culture, the language.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like elsewhere in the United States, the number of young people in need of mental health services continues to grow. But there are no local mental health centers for NHPI and other youth in Hawai\u02bbi. The state sends about 40 young adults to the mainland for mental health services annually. This has led to an outcry from parents to keep them home, and to OYAH\u2019s plans to break ground on a mental health care center at the Kawailoa campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hope<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNative Hawaiian culture and people define Hawai\u02bbi,\u201d says Mark Kawika Patterson, who oversees the Hawai\u2019i Youth Correctional Facility at Kawailoa. He fears that the culture could be lost within a generation if the youth don\u2019t have what they need to heal themselves and their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cKawailoa represents hope,\u201d says Patterson, who wants the youth to thrive but always know they can return to the Kawailoa campus whenever they want. \u201cWe provide them with the hope that their day-to-day existence can change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Kupa \u02bbAina Farm, youth are learning to laugh and connect with the land. They are finding purpose. They could be the ones to continue working the land when the current generation of 60- and 70-year-old farmers retire and strengthen the roots of the culture that they are rediscovering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PIDF, together with an assembly of local partner organizations, is a finalist for Racial Equity 2030, a global challenge to advance racial equity in the next decade. Together, they\u2019re working to end youth incarceration, especially of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander youth, in Hawai\u2019i.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":8328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,445,122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-opportunity-youth-action-hawaii","category-partners"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8327"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8330,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8327\/revisions\/8330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}