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Hawai‘i Says NO MORE Launch Week
As we celebrated the anniversary of NO MORE all across the country during NO MORE Week, communities, cities and states joined together to say NO MORE. Joyful Heart is proud to be one of the championing organizations behind Hawai‘i Says NO MORE, a new collaboration of individuals, programs and organizations in Hawai‘i taking action to raise visibility, create awareness, encourage conversation and break the social stigma surrounding domestic violence and sexual assault, which launched on March 8 across the state.
It was in Hawai‘i where Mariska first started the Joyful Heart Foundation ten years ago with the intention of helping sexual assault survivors heal and reclaim a sense of joy in their lives. Today, Joyful Heart has grown into a national organization with locations in New York, Los Angeles and Honolulu, carrying out our mission to heal, educate and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse, and to shed light into the darkness that surrounds these issues.
We are immensely proud of this collaborative effort to bring NO MORE to Hawai‘i, where Joyful Heart began. And we are truly grateful for the support of the community, our sponsors, local government and media partners in sharing our message of Hawai‘i Says NO MORE.
We invite you to join us. Visit the new website at HAWAIISAYSNOMORE.ORG, show your support for our local efforts by joining on social media and read about the launch week activities that are taking place below. Our hope is that they will inspire you to bring NO MORE to your own community—in any big or small way.
Gathering Our Community
With events on Hawai‘i Island, Kaua‘i, Maui and O‘ahu, members of our community gathered to mark the launch of Hawai‘i Says NO MORE. On March 8, Women Helping Women, a program that provides emergency shelter and services for survivors of domestic violence in Maui and Lana‘i, celebrated Hawai‘i Says NO MORE at its 18th annual event. The next day, Joyful Heart co-sponsored a launch party with Nalani Holliday, Hawai‘i Heart co-chair, at her Honolulu store, Red Pineapple.
Kaiser Permanente employees across the state participated in activities—and some even created their own Hawai‘i Says NO MORE videos, which you can see here. The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo celebrated the launch with awareness activities on campus. And in partnership with the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa's Office of Gender Equity and the Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women, Joyful Heart held a community event, Talking Story About Campus Sexual Violence: A Call to Action, which highlighted Hawai‘i Says NO MORE and Joyful Heart's NO MORE PSA campaign as tools to bring attention to the changing climate on college campuses while improving the response to sexual assault. Even students at Waipahu High School joined the effort to break the silence and increase visibility. View their initiative here.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho both declared March 8 - 15 NO MORE Week with city- and county-wide proclamations. In Honolulu, the iconic IBM building of Ward Village and Honolulu Hale were also lit up blue in honor of the week.
Amplifying Our Voices with Media Support
Hawai‘i Says NO MORE and the Joyful Heart Foundation are incredibly grateful for the support from our media partners, led by Hawaii News Now.
The support of Hawaii News Now (HNN) and local media outlets has amplified our message throughout Hawai‘i. News stories, editorials and participation in the Hawai‘i Says NO MORE Selfie Challenge contest all helped give additional voice to this effort.
- HNN Sunrise marked the launch of Hawai‘i Says NO MORE on the morning of Monday, March 9, featuring segments with Joyful Heart board member Dr. Kalei Kanuha and Howard Garval of Child and Family Service.
- Later that day, the HNN evening news aired another story with Dr. Rachael Wong, Director of the State Department of Human Services, Red Pineapple owner Nalani Holliday and Joyful Heart CEO Maile Zambuto. All day, HNN's on-air talent could be seen wearing their NO MORE pins.
- KHON and other outlets shared Mayor Caldwell's NO MORE Week Proclamation and the lighting of Honolulu Hale.
- HNN General Manager Rick Blangiardi, whom Joyful Heart honored at our 2014 Joyful Mele celebration, delivered an impassioned on-air editorial.
- A final call to action featuring Clara Priester and Dr. Alexandra Sueda at the end of the week offered support to survivors.
"Every day in our state more than 500 victims seek support from domestic violence programs. One in seven women are survivors of sexual assault. That's 67,000 women. And yet these crimes are severely underfunded, under-researched, misunderstood and often on the margin of public concern. Hawaii News Now has joined NO MORE and you can too... Let's all work together to mean what we say when we say 'NO MORE.'"
- Rick Blangiardi
Increasing Our Visibility on Social Media
Even though Hawai‘i Says NO MORE week has passed, you can still continue to be part of the Hawai‘i Says NO MORE Challenge.
Download the Hawai‘i Says NO MORE sign and write why you are saying NO MORE to domestic violence and sexual assault. Take your photo and post it to social media with the hashtag #HawaiiSaysNOMORE. Be sure to tag Hawai‘i Says NO MORE on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Continuing the Momentum
Hawai‘i Says NO MORE is about turning our attention towards the issues of domestic violence and sexual assault—not just for one week, but throughout the year. The success of Hawai‘i Says NO MORE Week is only the beginning. There are many exciting things ahead for Joyful Heart's work with Hawai‘i Says NO MORE over the months ahead, so stay tuned.
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