Caravan of medical personnel, other volunteers arrive in West Maui to help residents in need
Monday morning a caravan of nurse practitioners, mental health counselors, a psychiatrist and dedicated volunteers arrived in West Maui to support residents in need from the Lahaina fire.
They were part of The Mauna Medic Healers Hui, a group of healers dedicated to protecting the Protectors of the Mauna, who helped organize the grassroots effort for medical, mental health and supply coordination. Others were there from organizations such as Mālama Maui Nui, as well as a group to assist with houseless outreach.
They were in West Maui to help people who survived the nation’s most deadliest wildfire in a 100 years and have been shut off from the rest of the world.
Dr. Emily Loren said she had difficulty getting in to offer help to residents in need on Monday. Loren was one of the medical volunteers who was invited by a family friend to help with relief efforts in Kahana. Photographed on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. (Megan Moseley/Maui Now).- Volunteers to offer medical support gathered at the Maui Ocean Center Monday morning before heading over the island’s west side to offer much-needed support. Photograph taken on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. (Megan Moseley/Maui Now).
- Volunteers from the Maui community set up a checkpoint station at the Honokōwai Beach Park outside of Lāhainā. From clothes to food and medical help, volunteers have been assisting the community without electricity and internet following the recent fatal fire that left hundreds houseless. Photographed on Aug. 14, 2023. (Megan Moseley/Maui Now).
- Volunteers from the Maui community set up a checkpoint station at the Pohaku Park, or S-Turns, outside of Lāhainā. From clothes to food and medical help, volunteers have been assisting the community without electricity and internet following the recent fatal fire that left hundreds houseless. Photographed on Aug. 14, 2023. (Megan Moseley/Big Island Now).
- Volunteers from the Maui community set up a checkpoint station at the Honokōwai Beach Park outside of Lāhainā. From clothes to food and medical help, volunteers have been assisting the community without electricity and internet following the recent fatal fire that left hundreds houseless. Photographed on Aug. 14, 2023. (Megan Moseley/Maui Now).
- Residents look through a pile of donated clothes Monday at the Lāhainā Gateway at one of the donation drop-off points in the area. Photograph taken Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. (Megan Moseley/Maui Now).
The group included volunteers from Maui and neighboring islands, including Soonja Tyrrell, a nurse practitioner, who flew in from Oʻahu.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she said. “I was on Oʻahu just watching TV. I told myself, ‘I can’t sleep. I need to go.ʻ”
Tyrrell helped residents refill prescriptions and provided an empathetic ear for those who needed it. Residents and those passing by would stop by the station to share a tear, receive everything from over-the-counter medicines to bandages. Throughout the day they helped a man with an injured hand, and provided an inhaler to another, as well as the occasional hug.
Laura Dvorak, also a part of the hui, said while the group initially began on Mauna Kea during the 2015 and 2019 blockades, efforts for community support were reignited during the onset of the Lahaina tragedy.
With checkpoint stations set up in Pōhaku Park or “S-Turns,” Honokōwai Beach Park and Kahana Boat ramp, it appeared that the volunteer medical personnel were first on the scene.
Dr. Emily Loren said she had trouble getting to her friend’s property to assist with the relief efforts.
“Honestly, where’s FEMA? Where’s the Red Cross?” she asked.
She said she was told she wasn’t allowed to go into the area originally, but was driven to help her friends and be supportive so she got to Kahana by boat. In Kahana, she offered those in need a defibrillator.
Throughout the day, volunteers delivered water, ice, home goods, foods and more to residents along Lahainaluna Road, as well as at various assistance locations in Honokōwai, Lahaina Gateway shopping center and Kahana.
*Editor’s note: Information from this story has been updated to ensure accuracy.
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