Mālama Family Recovery Center Awarded $30,000

Mālama Family Recovery Center was awarded $30,000 from the Hawai‘i Community Foundation as part of its CHANGE Grants program. A total of $7 million was awarded to 194 nonprofit organizations statewide. Funding included $2 million from 665 donors and $5 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. In 2020, Scott gifted a total of $10 million to HCF.

The CHANGE Grants program supports the six interconnected sectors of HCF’s CHANGE Framework. MFRC received an award to fund their work in the Health & Wellness CHANGE Sector, and specifically the Sub-sectors of Affordable and Effective Healthcare Delivery Systems and Access to Quality Mental and Behavioral Healthcare. Other sectors of the CHANGE Framework include Community & Economy, Arts & Culture, Natural Environment, Government & Civics, and Education.

MFRC received the funds from the Hawai‘i Resilience Fund of HCF. The funds will be used to support MFRC’s Therapeutic Living Program, where pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorder receive treatment. The only program on Maui of its kind, women may enter treatment along with their children. By providing comprehensive substance abuse treatment, along with activities that strengthen mother-child bonding and support the entire family’s well-being, the agency seeks to end the cycle of addiction, one family at a time.

“At a time when we are seeing an increase in demand for our services, these funds will help us ensure more women can get the treatment they need. We appreciate HCF’s concern for the community, and their ability to address these concerns through the strategies they have created within the CHANGE Framework,” said Serlinda Soukon, Program Director for Mālama Family Recovery Center.

Mālama is part of Maui Behavioral Health Resources, an umbrella organization of three nonprofit agencies: Aloha House, Mālama Family Recovery Center, and Maui Youth & Family Services. It is the largest non-profit treatment provider on Maui. All three agencies seek to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment to Maui residents. The three agencies merged in 2008 to share and maximize their expertise, reduce overhead costs and eliminate service duplication.

Together, they provide services to almost 8,000 individuals in the Maui community each year.