$180K donation aims to help resolve trauma with clients at Mālama Family Recovery Center

Mālama Family Recovery Center is the recipient of a grant of $90,000 per year for two years from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation, to support a pilot project of the new Supplemental Treatment Program.

These funds will provide training and tools for providers using brain and body therapies, including some neuroscience modalities, to supplement current substance use disorder treatment.

Launched in 2021, STP provides holistic types of treatment including brain and body therapies, cultural activities, gardening and nutritional support.

“Supporting addiction recovery programs that take a holistic approach by addressing the long term effects of trauma are of high importance to Nuestro Futuro,” said Abigail Perrin, Executive Director of Nuestro Futuro. “We are honored to support Mālama Family Recovery Center and the important work they do for our community.”

The funds come at a critical time: a recent analysis of clients who had completed Mālama’s programs found that once they leave the program, anxiety and trauma may flare up, often exacerbated by stressors from the pandemic. This caused staff to determine that clients did not have the resolution they needed to their original trauma that may have caused the substance abuse to begin with. Left unhealed, this trauma may cause them to use substances again. The introduction of these new treatments will help participants obtain long term recovery.

“Many forms of brain and body therapies have proven to be effective in addressing the types of trauma our clients experience,” said Jud Cunningham, CEO of Mālama Family Recovery Center. “These funds will help us train staff in these modalities so that more participants can receive these services. We’ve very grateful to the Nuestro Futuro Foundation for joining us in this vision to provide these supplemental services. These types of programs are often underfunded, and collaborations between funders – in this case Jeff Bezos and the Nuestro Futuro Foundation – are what allow us to provide this more comprehensive type of care.”

Mālama Family Recovery Center provides caring, holistic substance abuse treatment to women and children so families can live safe, independent and healthy lives. It is Maui’s only women-specific addiction treatment center and the only place on the island where babies and young children can live with their mothers in treatment.

More information about Mālama Family Recovery Center is available here.