Hoʻoikaika Partnership receives $175,000 Maui Strong grant to help children, families  

Hoʻoikaika Partnership, a coalition dedicated to preventing child maltreatment and strengthening families, has received a one-year, $175,000 grant from The Maui Strong Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation.  

The grant will fund programming crucial for community healing, focusing on direct services, provider well-being and educational outreach. Ongoing needs of families and the workforce impacted by the recent fires will be addressed through the following activities: 

• Services for families including outreach, system navigation services, and concrete  support. These services help to fill gaps and remove barriers to help meet the  emotional, psychological and physical needs of children and their families. 

• Establishing a new “Healing the Healers” peer support group for health and human  service providers to aid emotional recovery. Monthly sessions facilitated in partnership  with MNI Counseling will promote self-care, conversation, and cultural practices to reduce stress and encourage healing throughout these challenging times.  

• Education and training to build protective factors and resilience among families and the workforce. One focus will be to distribute “Kalo Boy’s Adventure to Make Pono: He  Huakaʻi ʻOhana,” a children’s storybook that centers around Hawaiian culture, co-authored by Hoʻoikaika partners and illustrated by award-winning Native Hawaiian artist Solomon Robert Nui Enos. The book serves multiple purposes: it inspires hope, promotes  protective factors and early literacy, and shows the power of ʻohana uniting to  overcome adversity. 

Recognizing the heightened risk of child abuse post-disaster, Hoʻoikaika Partnership’s  comprehensive approach aims to ease the multiple stressors faced by both families and  providers, while also helping to meet the ongoing need for assistance in coping with grief and  trauma. 

In the aftermath of the August devastation, Hoʻoikaika Partnership has intensified efforts to  enhance service effectiveness, uplift service providers, and ensure the well-being of families. By fostering collaboration, the coalition seeks to fill pukas (holes) in the social safety net, build the skills and capacity of the workforce, engage more partners, and continue meeting evolving  community needs to facilitate recovery. 

Hoʻoikaika Partnership is committed to achieving significant milestones in the next year,  including: 

• Serving at least 100 families through navigation services.  
• Distributing 4,000 children’s books to community organizations, libraries, preschools, healthcare offices, and vulnerable families with children aged prenatal to 7 years old.
• Engaging 200 providers in training, support groups and collaborative meetings.
• Participating in at least four community events, including hosting the annual ʻOhana Fest in recognition of the national Child Abuse Prevention month in April.