Maui Strong Fund awards over $2M to support mental health
Artwork from the Lahaina Arts Guild, a Maui Strong Fund grantee. PC: Hawaiʻi Community Foundation.- Students of the Lahaina Arts Guild, a Maui Strong Fund grantee. PC: Hawaiʻi Community Foundation.
- Teaching at the Lahaina Arts Guild, a Maui Strong Fund grantee. PC: Hawaiʻi Community Foundation.
- Lei making with Maui Behavioral Health Resources, a Maui Strong Fund grantee. PC: Hawaiʻi Community Foundation.
- Lei making with Maui Behavioral Health Resources, a Maui Strong Fund grantee. PC: Hawaiʻi Community Foundation.
The Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF) announced the award of over $2 million to 24 nonprofit partners providing mental health support to individuals and families who have been affected by the Maui wildfires.
HCF’s mental health strategy for the Maui recovery effort has aligned with the state Office of Wellness and Resilience and Department of Health, as well as the Maui County-led Health and Social Services Recovery Support Function team, to ensure nonprofit organizations can provide coordinated and relevant mental health and resilience resources for fire-affected families and individuals. With federal and state resources taking the lead on traditional provision of mental health services, HCF’s grantmaking supports a mental health approach that engages healing and wellbeing that is community centered.
Funding priorities have focused on nonprofits providing culturally relevant community resources and practitioners that address gaps in service and reduce barriers to access. Including clinical therapy and community-centered approaches to wellness, culturally grounded and holistic resources, trauma-informed engagements with fire-affected households, and flexible therapeutic interventions.
HCF has a four-phase approach to disaster response to address both immediate and long-term recovery needs for the people and places affected by disaster events. In response to the Maui wildfires, Maui Strong Fund is currently in phase three, the recovery and stabilization phase, and funds are granted for interventions and programs designed to strengthen the health of Maui’s communities
Grants were awarded to the following organizations:
| Organization Name | Grant Description | Total Awarded |
| Aloft | The Maui Hero Project supports 300 youth across six schools and 40 partners with trauma healing, disaster preparedness, and camp activities. | $99,720 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Maui Inc. | The program aims to reduce depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues among 1,000 Maui youth through art, recreation, skill-building, career guidance, and leadership activities. | $100,000 |
| Child and Family Service | CFS will host the Lōkahi Resource Fair, offering mental health, cultural resources, and food for 250 youth and adults in a safe, family-friendly setting. | $51,000 |
| Family Hui Hawaiʻi | The “From Hope to Strength: A Path Forward” project will offer trauma-informed workshops and activities, including arts therapies and parental support. | $100,000 |
| Friends of Hawaiʻi Technology Academy | HTA will support students displaced by the Lahaina fire through mental health counseling and artistic programming, in partnership with local professionals, at their new Kapalua campus. | $40,000 |
| Hale Kipa Inc. | Hale Kipa will provide trauma-informed, culturally grounded mental health services, including therapy and therapeutic farming, to support youth and families impacted by the fires across the island. | $100,000 |
| Hāna Arts | In partnership with Fuzz Box Productions, Hāna Arts will host Family Movie Night events in West Maui hotels, providing a safe and uplifting space for displaced families to gather. | $39,000 |
| Hawai‘i Behavioral Health Connection | HiBHC will support 75 fire-impacted households with referral coordination to mental health services and host quarterly outreach events to build new community partnerships. | $100,000 |
| Hawai‘i Psychological Association (HPA)Fiscal Sponsor (FS): Hawai‘i Behavioral Health Connection | In partnership with the Hawai‘i Behavioral Health Connection, the HPA will offer evidence-based and cultural behavioral health services and will host monthly workshops and quarterly trainings to support Maui’s providers working with affected individuals and households. | $100,000 |
| Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaiʻi(HMHB) | HMHB will provide mental health support, including counseling, therapy, and peer support groups, for pregnant and postpartum women in Maui affected by the fires, in collaboration with local partners. | $97,650 |
| Island Mind Therapy LLC FS: Players Philanthropy Fund | Island Mind Therapy LLC will provide evidence-based treatment and cultural healing through individual and group therapy services in Central Maui, offering eight six-week cohorts to support Maui wildfire recovery efforts. | $100,000 |
| Kaibigan Ng Lahaina (KnL) | KnL will launch its Lahaina Filipino Mental Health Initiative to provide accessible, culturally relevant mental health services to the Filipino and immigrant communities, offering community sessions, therapy, and a referral system for long-term recovery and resilience. | $100,000 |
| Ke Kula ʻO Pi‘ilani | Ke Kula ʻO Piʻilani will support culturally grounded programs and practitioners aiding the recovery and healing of fire-affected families through Hawaiian language and cultural immersion education. | $100,000 |
| Lahaina Arts Guild(LAG) | The LAG will support arts and music education, summer camps, and community events in Lahaina schools, fostering healing and empowerment through creative expression. | $24,000 |
| Lines for Life (LFL) | LNL will use funds to establish a locally staffed YouthLine call center on Maui, offering peer-to-peer mental health support and resilience resources for youth impacted by the fires. | $100,000 |
| Mālama Nā Mākua A Keiki dba Mālama Family Recovery Center (MFRC) | MFRC will use the Maui Strong Fund grant to provide mental health referrals, counseling, and ongoing trauma support for 250 households in West and Central Maui. | $99,500 |
| Mana Maoli (MM) | Mana Maoli will continue its Mana Mele Maui project to bring music professionals to West Maui schools, boosting morale and fostering healing for 2,600 Lahaina youth and 300 residents while supporting school curriculum. | $100,000 |
| Maui Access to Mindful Movement | Mindful Movement for Maui will host 40-50 events over the next year, offering mindful movement classes like yoga, dance, and martial arts to enhance physical, mental, and social well-being for students and families. | $82,750 |
| Maui Preparatory Academy (MPA) | MPA will continue its partnership with a licensed clinical therapist, offering individual and group counseling, trauma-informed staff development, and support for students, families, and faculty impacted by the fires. | $100,000 |
| Native Hawaiian Philanthropy (NHP) | NHP will coordinate 12 community events between November 2024 and June 2025, providing resources like meals, gift cards, and mental health support to wildfire survivors while offering cultural activities and traditional healing practices. | $100,000 |
| Pacific Birth Collective Incorporated (PBC) | PBC will offer urgent mental health support services, case management, and professional development for vulnerable populations and practitioners. | $100,000 |
| Piha Wellness and Healing (PWH) | PWH will provide ongoing mental health services, including individual and family therapy, case management, and peer support, to 100 fire-affected clients, with a focus on long-term care and community referrals. | $100,000 |
| Project Koa Yoga, LLC (PKY)FS: Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaiʻi | PKY will offer trauma-informed wellness programs, including Ohana Yoga, prenatal and postpartum cycles, after-school programs, and teacher training, to address the mental and physical health needs of underserved communities on Maui. | $50,000 |
| Wisdom Circles Oceania (WCO) | WCO will launch a year-long Community Care Worker Resilience Circle to provide trauma-informed support and build wellness, leadership, and resilience among Maui-based nonprofit teams working with vulnerable populations. | $99,550 |
| TOTAL | $2,083,170 |
“The quick availability of these funds at this time allows us to continue with mental health support and treatment and not have to slow our outreach work. We’re also planning to continue special activities in-community through the holidays. This is the first year families are back in their homes, or settling in to new homes, after the fires, and it’s a critical time to provide support and also bring some joy and celebration to their lives,” said Nicole Hokoana, CEO of Mālama Nā Mākua A Keiki (dba Mālama Family Recovery Center.)
Kelly Maluo-Pearson, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui, says, “This recent funding will allow us to meet the urgent and growing need to support the mental wellness of Maui’s youth by allowing us to expand our services to include counseling within our Clubs for our members.”
As of Nov. 22, 2024, HCF has awarded $128 million from its Maui Strong Fund to more than 200 organizations.
The grants were made possible by donations to the Maui Strong Fund, which supports the people and places affected by the Maui fires.
Information on how to access resources from these programs will be listed on the Stronger Hawaiʻi website which serves as central hub of online information for Maui wildfire recovery efforts.
HCF has a unique role in disaster preparedness and response. The organization collaborates with partners, both inside and outside philanthropy, for a coordinated effort to secure maximum community impact. HCF has demonstrated its ability to raise funds quickly and deploy grants rapidly to community organizations that are at the heart of disaster response efforts.
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