Kukui Center Winter Newsletter 2012.indd

A gathering place for those who serve vulnerable children and families
Volume 2 Number 4
Winter 2012
The kukui tree planted at our 2009 blessing
is thriving – and so is the Kukui Center
Family Promise of Hawaii guests under the kukui tree
Luke Center's Chondra Peters and Director Carri Morgan meet
with KCF’s Tookie White and Judy Lind at the center
The Kukui Center has become “the place to be” for service programs interested in collaboration and the benefits of co-location. Many learn of us for the first time by attending meetings hosted by tenant agencies and have added to a growing list of applicants
for building space as it becomes available. Recent newcomers to the Center are Hawaii
Literacy who will be joining us in 2013, and the Pacific Survivors Center who will share
space with Kids Hurt Too Hawaii in the coming year. These exciting new programs will
significantly expand the wide spectrum of services currently provided at the Center.
We will be bidding a fond aloha to the Consuelo Foundation, a strong supporter from
the start providing a variety of services to abused children. Their beautiful Consuelo
Family Center will be missed by the many who were generously permitted to use the
space for community meetings and classes. Mahalo too for Consuelo’s addition of the
Kukui Center playground area, and for their ongoing support for the Center and its
goals in partnership.
The Hawaii Foster Youth Coalition will be moving from their second floor suite to the
larger, more flexible area vacated by Consuelo, bringing with them their computer lab
and game tables, and plans to add exercise programs, dance lessons and other resources
for their active teen clients.
The past year has also witnessed a gratifying growth in our Community Partners Program under the direction of Coordinator Lorraine Gershun. We are pleased to welcome
new partners, Trees of Hawaii and the Luke Center for Public Service at Punahou School,
for a total of thirty-three dedicated and supportive partners representing an impressively
wide variety of community interests.
Aloha to Tookie--please don't be a stranger
Sadly, this year has also brought the retirement of founding member and board secretary Karen “Tookie” White, whose
vision for the Kukui Children’s Foundation will continue to
inspire and guide the foundation for years to come. She was a
model board member and a great friend to the Kukui Center,
and will be remembered in a special way with the naming of
the Karen “Tookie” White Conference Room, a lasting tribute to her years of tireless service and invaluable insight.
Karen “Tookie” White and KCF Board President Jack Dwyer
2
Kukui Center Program Highlights
Graduating family returns to
volunteer and give back
By Mary Saunders
Although there is still much to be done, this year has gone
by so quickly. I smile when I think about the families that have
moved into housing this year - the proud faces of the parents and
the beautiful, excited smiles of the children. Since 2006, we have
now served 1,055 parents and children on Oahu. As always, I am
humbled by the generosity towards our families. This year, there
were backpacks and school supplies for the children in August, a
new van for transporting our families, complimentary haircuts,
Families from FPH give thanks to Hawaii Community Foundation for donations
donation drives with much needed family supplies and of course,
come back and volunteer with the program by bringing meals,
our daily volunteers providing shelter and meals.
transporting donated goods and even helping other families to
In October, we celebrated our volunteers with our annual
Volunteer Appreciation dinner at Catholic Charities. Close to
move into their new homes.
It warms my heart to see it come full circle. With the holidays
200 of our volunteers were in attendance and it was a wonderful
upon us it will be a busy, but wonderful time here at our centers.
opportunity to remember how far we have come. One of our
The children will soon be on vacation and hoping for a joyous
graduated families came to share how much Family Promise
holiday. Thanks to the generosity of many, I am sure it will be
has done for their lives. This special family has continued to
wonderful and memorable for all of our families.
allowing them enrollment into the Hawaii Youth Opportunities
Initiative and establishing an Individual Development Account to
match savings toward asset purchases including a car, computer, education, and more. A total of 30 youth will be enrolled in 2012.
We recently had our Annual Dinner where the CEO further committed to trauma-informed and motivational interviewing training
so staff may be most responsive to youth we service.
Hale Kipa Staff: Melissa Wilke, Pomai Villalon, Kelsey Tsuneda, Becky Rafferty, Angela Bohe,
Rachel Whipple, Matt Jugran , Danielle Danskin, Bryanna Turner, Michelle Kinimaka
Financial literacy training helps
foster youth save for the future
By Michelle Kinimaka
As we prepare for the holiday season, a time that can be especially
difficult for youth who are or have been in out of home care, the
Hale Kipa staff will be putting on their elf hats and planning several
events to help our youth celebrate a whole week of events that include various holiday traditions. We will be doing some holiday bak-
As we close this year, Hale Kipa celebrates three years of provid-
ing and cookie decorating, making holiday ornaments and crafts that
ing housing assistance to former foster youth through our Step Up
can be given as gifts, and wrapping it all up with a holiday party and
Program. To date we have helped over 80 youth in securing indepen-
gifts for the youth. The party will include lunch, karaoke, a holiday
dent housing through the Section 8 Program. We continue to process
movie, and bingo! The staff will be providing homemade holiday
applications for multiple youth every month.
treats as part of a baking contest with the youth as judges.
The Independent Living and Step Up programs continue to provide
Financial Literacy training for foster youth and former foster youth,
As we wrap up the year, we wish everyone a safe and joyous holiday
season!
3
Empowering foster youth to
speak up and be heard
By Cynthia White
Hawaii Foster Youth Coalition is made up of young people who
are in or have been through the foster care system. We work to
improve youths’ lives and services by providing the voice of youth.
HFYC is a great way for the youth to meet other youth just like
themselves. On July 15, 2012, we held the Real World Event.
We put the foster youth through exercises like what the real life
throws at us, paying bills, budgeting, money management, job
experience……etc. The next day we threw an after party at the
Kaneohe sand bar. It was an epic way to end the hard work. On
HFYC board: Pono, Jo-Lynn, Brianne, Gerald, Czarina, Savannah, Jezmine, Lehua, Jay
August 13, 2012 we attended the annual event called the Ohana is
youth together to get their opinion on how to change the foster
Forever Conference at which HFYC led workshops for youth and
system for the better. HFYC did community service projects, fitness
participated as speakers and mentors. It’s the biggest event each year
activities like hiking, surfing, and other fun outings. But that’s not
with 125 youth and 250 adult workers and caregivers attending.
where we’ll end, HFYC plans to go further helping youth create
We also did several big shindigs partnering with HPD, Habilitat,
goals for their futures and learn skills for implementing goals with
and others so youth have a chance to connect in fun ways, meet
the volunteer help of Seymour Kazimirski. We have taken a hard
community support people, and learn healthy lifestyle skills. We
look at our successes and are looking to make changes that build on
did over 72 monthly chapter meetings statewide bringing 152
that to better the lives of youth and the work of HFYC.
Ukulele practice with Kaleo Kwan and Hiro Ito. Makana, Brandon, Ali, Alyssa, Huri,
Shenice, Audrianna, Andre, Hoku, Chardonnay, Alize, Champagne, and Naomi
Community support communicates
love and care to the children
By Cynthia White
Kids Hurt Too Hawaii conducted 68 peer support group
meetings and nearly 85 mentoring activities this year engaging
270 children and 82 families on Oahu. We were fortunate to have
34 volunteers work with the support groups and 94 help with
mentoring.
An important aspect to what we do for children and families is
engaging a wide network of supporters. It has been a tremendous
blessing to have the help of the Kukui Children’s Foundation and
their Community Partners Coordinator helping us to connect
with more partners, expanding our circle of collaborators. All
the support from the community communicates a lot of love
and support to the children. They see a larger community that
provides safe places and people who care.
As the holidays approach and caring people reach out to help
bring joy into the lives of grieving and traumatized children,
we are happily busy working like elves to pass on the gifts and
opportunities to enjoy the season that tends to be the hardest for
our families and children. We reap the benefit of donors because
we have receive the blessing of seeing the children’s little eyes
light up and hearing their squeals of surprise.
All that we have done this year is share the love so abundant
in the great state of Aloha and on the gathering place island of
Oahu. Thank you one and all.
4
Joyful Heart Foundation
founder visits the Center
By Kata Issari
E 'oli'oli mai. “Bring joy forth: let the goodness shine forth.” This
'olelo no'eau framed Joyful Heart’s September fundraiser and aptly
describes our first year at the Kukui Center. Since relocating our
Kona office to Honolulu last fall we have served 300 individuals
from around the state, growing from a Hawai'i staff of one to three
people along the way.
In January, in partnership with the Hawai'i Children’s Trust Fund,
we launched One Strong 'Ohana, a comprehensive child abuse
prevention campaign that will reach over 98% of all Hawai'i adults
by the end of 2012. In February, we joined with PACT to provide
Namelehuapono Wahine, a program for adult survivors of domestic
violence, sexual assault and child abuse that integrates Hawaiian
practices with other healing modalities. In April we hosted a Wellness Day that created a restorative session for survivors, providing
them an opportunity to nurture their healing through creative
expression, movement and meditation. More than 15 organizations
participated in our Heal the Healer’s programming this year where
they learned how to address the needs of staff affected by trauma
Kata Issari, JHF Hawaii Regional Director, Mariska Hargitay, JHF Founder and President, Kalei Kanuha, JHF Board Member, Maile Zambuto, JHF CEO
exposure -- the cumulative pain of bearing witness to the suffering of
others.
We closed the year with a visit from Mariska and a successful inaugural Hawai'i fundraiser. Called “Joyful Mele,” it was a celebration of
our nā mele, the stories that tell of our origins and especially our love
of Hawai'i. A fitting culmination of all the goodness that has come
to us and that we have been able to share with the community this
past year!
free person having become a citizen. I don’t have to worry anymore
that I won’t be able to stay here.”
Other clients celebrate successful immigration applications
providing them a more stabilized immigration status and often a
pathway to citizenship. The end of November marks the end of
Expanding services for
immigrants who are in need
our year-long outreach to the Chinese and Chuukese communities
By Marissa Llamido
Contest with an awards reception held at the Kukui Center. Youth
As Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center at Legal Aid Society of Hawaii (“HIJC”) wraps up 2012 we give thanks for a productive year
of training, reaching out to the community, and assisting clients
step out of abusive, unhealthy situations and into a more flourishing, fulfilling life. For several of our clients 2012 Thanksgiving
will take on a deeper meaning as their successful naturalizations
enable them to celebrate America as their own country this year.
One client HIJC was able to assist to become a citizen this fall
appreciates the freedom the United States provides, “I’ve been
here for 20 years, and now I have the chance to vote. This is what
makes it really worth it to be a citizen. For me, I feel like I am a
concerning the ever important issue of housing and their language
access rights. On November 17, 2012 HIJC selected a winner of
the annual Chinese Family Violence Awareness Project Youth Art
ages 3-18 were encouraged to create an art piece which reflects the
theme: “What does peace/respect in the home look like?”
This season of thanks we recognize some of the highlights of
2012:
• Starting citizenship classes at the Filipino Community Center
• Conducting victim outreach at Deferred Action workshop
• Providing training on Housing and Language Access to Housing and Urban Development grantees,
• Training law enforcement on human trafficking issues,
• Beginning outreach projects to the Hispanic and Chuukese
communities to raise awareness of domestic violence, sexual
assault, and relief available to victims.
5
Educational success for Hawaii's
keiki and families is the priority
By Michael Moore
Two hundred and fifty words are insufficient to share the highlights
Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii (LDAH) experienced
this year. Receiving the grant to continue as Hawaii’s Parent Training
& Information Center for our 22nd year is one of our biggest
achievements. But how can we compare that to new contracts with
Aloha United Way and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs supporting our
School Readiness Project for another three years? We are honored to
be involved in both these projects.
LDAH completed a six-year research project with the Center on
Disability Studies, which evaluated the benefits of a cultural approach
to working with school personnel, parents and students with special
needs. We also concluded our 5th and final year working with
the Community Children’s Council Office providing professional
trainings to benefit parents of children with disabilities, teachers and
students, statewide. While we will miss both of these projects, we
are on to a new adventure with Hawaii’s Department of Education
(DOE) to develop a Parent Training and Consultation Support
System to benefit teachers and parents of children with disabilities
Volunteer mediators participate in a paternity mediation workshop, one of the many
trainings they are required to complete to ensure quality services are provided to all clients
Mediators craft agreements
for vulnerable chidren
By Tracey Wiltgen
2012 was a year of growth for the Mediation Center of the
Pacific. By the end of December, approximately 1,700 cases will
have been managed by the staff, with two hundred sixty three
cases mediated at the Kukui Center. In addition, new programs
and partnerships have been created to better serve the needs of
Oahu’s communities, particularly families and children.
To address the growing backlog of cases at Family Court
Amanda Kaleikula-Velleses, Michelle Chung, Melissa Kanae, Melody Bell, Peter Ginoza
involved with the Centers of Educational Excellence, also called the
Po`okela Project.
When it comes down to priorities, our biggest highlights are the
interactions we have with our client families and the relationships
we’ve enjoyed this year that help us do our work. Nothing is more
important than ensuring our families are well cared for and that
Hawaii’s keiki, with or without disabilities, experience success in their
education and their lives.
involving unmarried couples with children, in March the
Mediation Center created an on-site court paternity mediation
program. After four months, 79% of the cases resulted in
written agreements. 96% of the participants reported that
mediation was a useful process. Comments about the Program
included: “mediation was helpful and a great way to deal with
uncooperative parents to reach a fair agreement.”
In October, the Mediation Center joined EPIC, the
Department of Education, Department of Health, Family Court,
Department of Human Services and the Office of Youth Services
on a new pilot project to assist youth in the child welfare system.
Through the project, WRAP, the Mediation Center facilitates
meetings involving the various partners, to develop plans for the
provision of WRAP services for youth and families who are or
have been under the jurisdiction of Family Court, are at risk of
Family Court involvement, or are served by more than one state,
county or private agency.
These programs are just two examples of the many activities
initiated and conducted by the Mediation Center’s staff and
volunteers over the year at the Kukui Center to better assist
Hawaii’s families and youth and help more people prevent and
resolve conflicts peacefully.
Kukui Children's Foundation
245 North Kukui Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Winter 2012
Our Family Of Social Services
Board of
Directors
John R. Dwyer, Jr.
President
Clyde Namu'o
Vice President
Karen K. White
Secretary
John Garibaldi
Treasurer
Suzanne Chun Oakland
Patricia Kay
Sue Landon
Jim Reinhardt
Judy Lind
Executive Director
[email protected]
Consuelo
Foundation
Family Promise
of Hawaii
Programs for abused
and neglected children
and families
(808) 526-3232
www.consuelo.org
Resources for homeless
families with children
(808) 548-7478
Joyful Heart
Foundation
Helping victims of child
abuse, domestic violence
and sexual assault
(808) 532-3520
www.joyfulheartfoundation.org
www.familypromisehawaii.org
Kids Hurt Too
Support for grieving
children who have
lost a parent
(808) 545-5683
or (808) 256-3176
www.kidshurttoo.org
Hale Kipa
Outreach services for
child abuse victims in, or
transitioning out of,
foster care to become
independent
(808) 853-4660
www.halekipa.org
Learning
Disabilities
Association of
Hawaii
Training center for
parents of
children with disabilities
(808) 536-9684
www.LDAHawaii.org
Hawaii Foster Youth
Coalition
Advocacy and independent living skills training
for foster youth
(808) 545-5683
www.facebook.com/
fosteryouthspeak
Maximum Legal
Services
Corporation
Legal services for
management of
Conservatorships
and Trusts
(808) 585-0920
www.maxcorp.hi-org
Hawaii Immigrant
Justice Center at
LASH
Legal services for
immigrant victims of
abuse and domestic
violence
(808) 536-4302
www.hijcenter.org
Mediation Center
of the Pacific
Conflict resolution
for cases
involving children
and others
(808) 521-6767
www.mediatehawaii.org
www.kukuicenter.org
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