OHA Awards $148K Grant to Salvation Army Program

The Salvation Army Family Treatment Services is the recipient of a $148,755 Office of Hawaiian Affairs Community Grant to support the Native Hawaiian community. The grant will help to reinforce and strengthen ‘ohana (family) and moʻomeheu (culture).

FTS will offer the ‘Ohana Engagement and Recovery project to women, children and their families in early recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. The focus is on engaging mothers and their babies in treatment programming that is centered around the integration of cultural beliefs, concepts and practices that enhance healing for the entire family. The project is sponsored by OHA to improve the lives of Native Hawaiians.

“We are honored to receive these funds from OHA to help the women in our program by integrating cultural practices into the treatment curriculum,” said Candace Pang, Executive Director of The Salvation Army Family Treatment Services program on Oʻīahu.

The ‘Ohana Engagement and Recovery project will provide the following:

• Hapai Support Groups: developed for the special issues that arise for a pregnant woman in early recovery from her substance addiction.
• Culturally integrated parenting and child development assessment and family plans: developed from the family’s desired integration of cultural elements into goal setting and planning for their family reunification and healing from addiction.
• Culturally adapted parenting education classes: integrated parenting curriculum that supports recovery and trauma-informed parenting support with rooting in Hawaiian values to support the functioning of a newly healing family.
• Ho‘olaule‘a Makuakane: extended engagement to fathers and father figures with visitation, parent education and participation in traditional cultural practices such as Malama ‘āina and pā‘ina with their families in treatment.
• Mala Ho‘omau: expanded Mālama ‘āina activities for the whole family to begin their own mala as part of their family activities while in treatment.

“By the end of the ‘Ohana Engagement and Recovery project, we hope to offer these activities to 90 Native Hawaiian participants to include women and children in substance abuse treatment, as well as fathers, extended family and children not residing with their mothers in treatment,” said Pang.

The purpose of the ‘Ohana Engagement and Recovery project is to serve the Native Hawaiian lāhui in alignment with the strategic foundations, directions, and outcomes of the 15-year “Mana i Mauli Ola” Strategic Plan.