It is with a full and grateful heart that I pause—mid-way through our 10^th anniversary year and at the beginning of our new fiscal year—to reflect on the special blessings of the past twelve months. 

When Mariska first imagined the Joyful Heart Foundation in Kailua-Kona, no one could have foreseen the powerful impact we would have a decade later. Thanks to the support and involvement of our community—people like you—we have made a significant difference in the lives of many and journeyed far together: growing across Hawai‘i and the country to serve thousands of individuals in need—almost 5,000 to date in Hawai‘i alone.

Although I’m often sobered by the incidents of violence and trauma we all bear witness to, especially lately, it is the tremendous good that we’ve accomplished that I carry with me. Rather than let hearing about the violence defeat me, knowing about this reality reenergizes and recommits me—and hopefully you—to Joyful Heart’s vision of reclaiming joy and ending sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse here in Hawai‘i. 

So, as we enter our new fiscal year this month, it is with deep appreciation and great joy that I share a recap our work this past year, in anticipation of all that we will achieve ahead, together. 

Creating a Holistic Pathway to Healing: The Namelehuapono Project

Namelehuapono© was founded by Joyful Heart board member Dr. Valli Kalei Kanuha as part of a collaboration with local service providers. It is a Native Hawaiian, culturally based group intervention that uses Hawaiian values, beliefs, traditions and practices to address intimate partner, sexual and family violence. Developed under the guidance of Hawaiian cultural practitioners, elders and domestic violence experts on O‘ahu, the Namelehuapono model provides a holistic pathway to healing from trauma by integrating Hawaiian culture with other healing modalities situated in the unique and sacred milieu of Hawai‘i. 

The Namelehuapono project is a multi-year effort to refine and develop a Hawaiian cultural approach for trauma-based intervention, supported in part by the James and Abigail Campbell Family Foundation.  This past year, our efforts included hosting two informational sessions for over 50 program partners to share the Namelehuapono group model and invite them to refer participants for the women’s group. We’ll be evaluating the impact of the group, with the goal of building capacity to disseminate the model to our community partner programs throughout Hawai‘i. A long-term goal is to also identify universal guidelines for the use of a cultural approach to trauma-based intervention for survivors, which we plan to disseminate throughout the United States. Under the leadership of the Hawai‘i Advisory Committee and Dr. Kanuha, we have also begun to pilot a training program for facilitators as well as designing a children’s version of the Namelehuapono. In March, Dr. Kanuha and I led a workshop for over 100 people about Namelehuapono at the Institute of Violence, Abuse and Trauma International Conference, held in Hawai‘i.

 “Everyday, Hawaiian women are experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault at disproportionate rates. Namelehuapono offers not only a lifeline to safety, but also a unique pathway back to our Hawaiian cultural practices, grounded in reverence for women and families.”

- Namelehuapono Facilitator-in-Training

Days of Wellness and Self-Care

This year, we held several survivor wellness days and Heal the Healers sessions to serve our Hawai‘i community.

The first Wellness Day took place in August at a beautiful space at the foot of the Ko‘olau Mountains with majestic views of the Windward Coast and the rainforests of O‘ahu. All of the participants at this session were youth in foster care and/or transitioning out of foster care, ranging in age from 14- to 21-years old. We provided age-appropriate activities exploring the impact of trauma in the body and ways to maintain wellness through the healing process. It was a very meaningful experience to serve this community—their positive attitudes and resiliency were simply inspirational. 

At the end of June, we held a deeply moving Wellness Day on O‘ahu for 40 survivors. There were women in attendance from throughout the island and from all walks of life—women referred by private therapists, women from local domestic violence shelters, residents from a transition program for women coming out of prison and many referred by local domestic violence and sexual assault service organizations. Our day was a nurturing experience, and for many, a life-changing one. It consisted of a nutritious meal, wellness workshops on health and nutrition, yoga, Chi Kung and acupressure, as well as healing through art. For all the participants, it was a time to truly focus attention and care on themselves.

"From the heart and soul, Mahalo Nui Loa. I haven’t smiled and laughed like I did in years.”

- Wellness Day Program Participant

We also concluded our series of Heal the Healers sessions for member programs of the Hawai’i State Coalition Against Domestic Violence by providing wellness workshops to more than 200 domestic violence advocates, counselors, probation officers, attorneys and mental health professionals at their annual conference in September.

Kicking off Hawai‘i Says NO MORE

As I’m sure you know, Joyful Heart has been hard at work this year bringing the NO MORE PSA campaign to life. It is hard to believe that at this time last year, we were only beginning to imagine the reach and impact it could have across the country. 

Since its launch in September, the NO MORE PSA campaign has generated unprecedented momentum in raising awareness about domestic violence and sexual assault throughout the United States. NO MORE has garnered over 650 million media impressions, including nearly 250 million impressions on television alone.

Emulating states like Indiana and Pennsylvania that have already adopted NO MORE at the state level, we’ve convened a coordinating committee in Hawai‘i representing community partners from across the islands to create Hawai‘i Says NO MORE. More than 30 organizations—representing local non-profits, state government, the University of Hawai’i and the military—have already begun to work collaboratively to envision NO MORE in Hawai’i. With the support of the Hawai‘i Advisory Committee and Hawai‘i Hearts, Joyful Heart will lead work next year to produce a new Hawai‘i Says NO MORE PSA campaign with localized messages and talent based in the Hawai‘i community.

Engaging Men to Talk Story About Ending Violence

In collaboration with A CALL TO MEN, a national organization working to get men involved in ending violence against women, Joyful Heart hosted a two-part series of events called Talk Story in Hawai‘i this May. Our goal was to educate and engage the local community on men’s roles in ending violence. 

The Talk Story series emerged from educational sessions we have been hosting for the Hawai‘i Hearts this year—most of which have been led by issue experts on our board and staff. Dr. Valli Kalei Kanuha led two of these sessions, one on the cultural significance of the Namelehuapono Project in the context of Joyful Heart’s work in Hawai‘i and another on the history and impact of colonization. Rev. Al Miles, whose series you can read on Reunion Online, also facilitated two sessions, the first focusing on how violence can be appropriately addressed by the clergy and faith-based communities. In his second session, Rev. Miles discussed teen dating violence including the barriers to supporting teens in abusive relationships and how to prevent violence from happening in the first place. He led a dynamic discussion about engaging in open conversations with their children—especially young men—about healthy relationships and respect, with a focus on men’s role in ending violence against women. From these sessions, the idea of the Talk Story series was developed to inspire community conversations about how men can help prevent violence and abuse while also educating parents about how to raise respectful, non-violent sons.

Our first event—for our community of philanthropic supporters—was hosted at the home of Karen Chang and Rick Blangiardi, General Manager of Hawaii News Now. Ted Bunch, Co-Founder of A CALL TO MEN, presented to approximately 70 attendees on the socialization of men and men’s responsibility in ending violence against women, focusing in particular on how parents can teach their sons to be respectful. We then opened the session for discussion (“talk story”), leading with insights from Dr. Kanuha and Rev. Miles. It was a lively and active dialogue, and the men in attendance were invited to sign Joyful Heart’s pledge to take six concrete actions to help end violence against women. We also encouraged everyone to make a separate, personal pledge to one action that will help bring an end to domestic violence and sexual assault. It was touching to see everyone silently, sincerely and thoughtfully write out their commitment to doing more. We collected these pledges and mailed them back to participants last month as a reminder to continue speaking out. 

“This has changed my life. I’m going to do everything differently from now on."

- Talk Story Program Participant

The following day, we hosted Talk Story About Men Working to End Violence Against Women, a community event in Honolulu. Over 80 people were present—a broad cross-section of community members and service providers—including University of Hawai‘i staff, students and faculty; advocates from local domestic violence and sexual assault programs; staff from public and private schools; sexual assault advocates from the Army; both active duty and civilian staff of Family Advocacy Programs representing all military branches; therapists; staff of the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office; state workers; and staff of several social service agencies. After Ted’s presentation, two local experts -- Jennifer Rose of the University of Hawaii Office of Gender Equity and Keliʻi Beyer of the Domestic Violence Action Center -- contextualized Ted’s comments for Hawai‘i's local culture. Again, community members took a personal pledge to further actions to end violence. 

SEE MORE PHOTOS

To share your own commitment and urge others to do the same, share our Talk Story message here.

Creating our One Strong ‘Ohana

In 2010, the Joyful Heart Foundation joined in a groundbreaking partnership with the Hawai‘i Children’s Trust Fund (HCTF) to develop One Strong ‘Ohana, the most comprehensive child abuse prevention public awareness campaign in the state of Hawai‘i. Since then, we’ve commissioned extensive local research on the prevalence and perceptions of child abuse and neglect in Hawai‘i while working to build strong coalition in the movement to keep keiki safe and strengthen families.

With the support of our media and corporate sponsors such as Hawai’i News Now, the reach of the One Strong ‘Ohana campaign has been vast throughout the islands. Over 150,000 pieces of educational material have been distributed to date. More than 11,000 people joined the One Strong ‘Ohana online community, connecting to resources and information on child abuse and neglect throughout the state. And the public service campaign exceeded its saturation goals, reaching 900,000 media impressions. This year, Joyful Heart secured additional placements of the One Strong ‘Ohana ad campaign at Whole Foods Market in Kahala as well as displays at Ward Center. We also worked with our One Strong ‘Ohana coalition partners to raise awareness with all public schools on O‘ahu, developing and distributing 17,000 teacher-specific information fliers (at right) to all Hawai‘i Department of Education school personnel on the island.

The One Strong ‘Ohana campaign stands as the largest child abuse and neglect prevention campaign ever implemented in the state. It has generated increased awareness of the issue, helped strengthen families throughout Hawai‘i, facilitated grassroots community action and made our communities safer for Hawai‘i’s children. 

The Hawai’i Advisory Committee: Our Guides

In 2008, Joyful Heart convened a Hawai’i Advisory Committee to guide our work to incorporate the history and culture of Hawai’i into our programming. This group has grown over the last year to support the expansion of our work across the state as well as the growth of our program portfolio. Over the past year, the HAC has solidified its membership by affirming its role in the work of Joyful Heart locally and nationally:

“The purpose of the Hawai’i Advisory Committee is to strengthen Joyful Heart’s organizational capacity, vision and leadership in Hawai’i by grounding our work in a responsive, relevant and substantive manner that reflects the unique cultural milieu of Hawai‘i as place. As a locally based organization with national reach, we are strong by engaging our local community and also by acknowledging and integrating our Hawai’i work into Joyful Heart’s national initiatives. We acknowledge that the first people of these islands are Native Hawaiians, who have provided the foundation for the ways in which we relate to each other in our values and practices. The HAC brings the best of Hawai‘i’s indigenous healing traditions and multi-ethnic history to inform all aspects of Joyful Heart as an organization locally and nationally. This cross-pollination of expertise and knowledge is aimed at the long-term growth and sustainability of Joyful Heart as a viable member of our Hawai‘i community.”

As we look to the year ahead, it is clear to me that through our work over the past ten years, Joyful Heart has become part of the story of Hawai’i—as much as Hawai’i, our birthplace, is part of the story of Joyful Heart. It is a story that is made possible by the rich history of this place, by the inspiring beauty of our islands and by the lasting commitment of our community coming together to create lasting change.  

With deepest appreciation and much joy for all you have helped us accomplish,

Kata Issari
Vice President, Hawai‘i Region