August 14, 2019

Our Impact in 2018

By Laura Levin | About HNP, Education, News, Pearl Haven | No Comments

As we look back on last year, we see a collection of moments through brightly colored drawings, children at their school desks, and shovels in dirt. These are moments in time when individuals in our community connected with Ho`ōla Nā Pua. Each year we grow to meet the needs of our community. Last year we were able to reach more youth in juvenile facilities, students in new school districts, and we broke ground on Pearl Haven, our future residential campus for survivors.

By the Numbers: 2018 Impact

Sex Trafficking Support Programs

In 2018, we reached over 26,000 people with our mission and connected with community stakeholders who are joining in to be part of the solution. The problem of sex trafficking requires us to surround our keiki with support. This has meant an expansion of our programs in order to reach more keiki and the adults in their lives.

Sex Exploitation and Trafficking Education

We seek to prevent sex trafficking and travel to schools island-wide to provide education to students on this issue. We found that 3 out of 4 of students received an education on sex trafficking for the first time through our presentations. Also, almost every student walks forward into their lives with the confidence that they can recognize the warning signs of a trafficking situation. We also provide training to professionals and first responders on identification and response to exploitation so that children can then receive the attention and care they need.

Sex Trafficking Mentoring Program

Mentorships are a core focus for us as we know that it plays a significant role in recovery from psychological trauma. OurStarfish Mentoring Program connects a child who has been exploited (or is at high risk of being exploited) to a vetted, extensively trained caring adult to help guide them toward healing, restoration, and successful social reintegration. In addition, we provide group mentoring activities in juvenile facilities to equip youth with empowerment tools that will serve as protective factors when they are discharged. In these settings, youth are encouraged to participate in art activities, lie giving a ‘weather report’ on their mood at the beginning and end of the group session.

Sex Trafficking Awareness

We are often invited to speak at community presentations, including conferences and workshops. Last year alone, we presented at 42 unique venues to raise awareness on the issue of sex trafficking and exploitation. We often meet parents and community members who want to learn more about how to take action on this important issue.

Do you want to learn more about Ho`ola Na Pua and have us present at your place or work or at an event? Please contact us at events@hoolanapua.org.

Sex Trafficking Residential Care Campus

In 2018 we broke ground on the Pearl Haven Campus. This will be the future residence of up to 32 girls who have been sexually exploited. They will receive a comprehensive program for healing, including the possibility of therapy, mental and physical health care, and educational needs. We are currently under construction and have raised 60% of the capital needed to open the doors to Pearl Haven.

Thank you to our supporters who have made this work possible. To get involved as a volunteer, advocate, or contributor, please visit hoolanapua.org.

MAHALO TO OUR SUPPORTERS AND SUSTAINING DONORS 2018

The work to help the Keiki of Hawaii and beyond would not be possible without our donors.

Please consider donating to help continue to make this dream a reality.

Be part of the solution! It’s with the dedication of our supporters that we are able to advance education, awareness, and action to provide restoration for children rescued from sexual exploitation. Whether you want to volunteer your time, voice, or resources, we’ve made it easy find a way to get involved with Hoʻōla Nā Pua.

You can help survivors of sex trafficking. Donations for sex trafficking to Hoʻōla Nā Pua support Health, Education, Advocacy and Reintegration, which includes our Starfish mentorship program and sustains ongoing operating and Pearl Haven site development costs. Our Federal ID number (EIN) is 46-5139164. Your gift may be 100% deductible from your taxable income.

April 16, 2019

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Program Updates! Help Trafficked Kids through Health, Education, Advocacy, and Reintegration

By Laura Levin | About HNP, Education, News, Pearl Haven | No Comments

Looking Back – and Ahead Sex Trafficking Education and Advocacy

2018 was a year of great expansion for Hoʻōla Nā Pua. Two of our programs, the Education Program and Starfish Mentoring Program (SMP), experienced phenomenal growth and reached more keiki than ever before. Our Education Advocates reached over 3,900 middle and high school students through sex trafficking prevention education – nearly doubling our 2018 goal of 2,000! Trafficking prevention education was provided to students on three islands (Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island, Maui) in five school districts (Central, Honolulu, Leeward, Hawaiʻi, Maui).

SMP’s Hoku group mentoring expanded from three juvenile facilities to five: Hawaiʻi Youth Correctional Facility, Hale Hoʻomalu Juvenile Detention Facility, Hale Kipa Girls Emergency Shelter, Hale Lanipōlua Trafficked Victim Assessment Center, and Noho Olu Girls’ Safe House. 2019 is bringing even more significant opportunities in continuing to build the continuum of care needed for children in Hawaiʻi. This year we are focusing on our programmatic impact and measurement along with continuous expansion and sustainability by:
- Reducing trafficking vulnerability and demand through creative education, advocacy, and partnerships.
- Driving a cultural shift in reducing stigma around the issue of trafficking and being a thought leader in the anti-trafficking space
- Expanding the much needed Hoku group mentoring service into more adolescent facilities both on Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island.
- Increasing the number of trained volunteers for in the Starfish Mentoring program as well as our Educational Advocacy program to deliver in-school prevention education.
- Developing an advocacy agenda and engaging our volunteers and supporters to be a part of the needed legislative changes.
- Cultivating more partnerships and collaborative opportunities- because together our impact is greater!

Sex Trafficking Program Updates

Hoʻōla Nā Pua has partnered with Child & Family Service and Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi to offer free services to children and families who are survivors of sexual abuse. The Hope and HealingProgram provides an ʻohana style approach, offering wraparound services of counseling and support to child survivors and their families.The program also screens and assesses the risk of sex trafficking and provides concurrent treatment planning as needed. HNP provides trafficking prevention and identification training, mentoring services, and Hoku group activities. Other services include assessment, family support, and individual, group, and family counseling. There are new faces at HNP headquarters! Kim Allen, LSW, has joined us as our new Direct Services Program Manager for the Starfish Mentoring Program. Kim comes to HNP with over a decade of experience with program management at the State Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division. Tim Hitchens, MSW, is our new Education Program Manager. Tim is an experienced social worker from Philadelphia where he was a policy and program supervisor at the Department of Health and oversaw the Child Welfare hotline. If you see them around our offices, say hello!

Pearl Haven Residential Treatment Updates

Pearl Haven is in renovation phase 3 of 6, and we are close to 50% of the project cost raised. We are so thankful for the MacNaughton Foundation and John Dean, among others, who in the fourth quarter of 2018 made significant contributions to keep construction moving forward at Pearl Haven. We are at a critical step in project development, and are working on securing an operation partner for the services Pearl Haven will provide. We believe in quality programming to ensure a strong and sustainable program. The community and national support for a place like Pearl Haven continues to increase, and recognition of the level of trauma interventions are becoming apparent. Once completed, Pearl Haven will be the safe space for the girls we serve! Learn more about Pearl Haven construction updates.

Please consider donating to help continue to make Pearl Haven a reality.

February 25, 2019

2019 Message from Ho’ola Na Pua President

By Laura Levin | About HNP, Advocacy, Pearl Haven | No Comments

This year is off to a wonderful start! 2018 was a year of innumerable blessings with our April 2018 Ground blessing and commencement of renovation of pearl haven, the growth and expansion of our in school education prevention programs, trainings, and in the Starfish Mentoring Program. We were able to expand our collaborative partnerships and increase our impact by working closely with other community-based organizations. Our diverse board of directors and advisory board members continues to, and we are excited for the depth of leadership and expertise they are contributing to this critical mission and our programs.

Advocacy and Awareness Around the Issue of Child Exploitation

As we run into 2019, I am excited for the many opportunities that lie ahead with furthering the advocacy and awareness around the issue of child exploitation in America both locally and nationally. I truly believe that we exist as an organization to have a worldwide impact around the response to child trafficking. As I interface with many leaders in the anti-trafficking space around the globe, it becomes clearer to me every day that we have to continue to be strategic and think outside the box to create a sustainable response to exploitation and drive the cultural shift needed in America towards the trafficking of children. We are planting seeds through every conversation we engage in, and these seeds are being taken around the world. This sparks the changes that are needed on a large scale. Despite being out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, we have reach and impact that is sending a title wave of change around the globe that is dire for the freedom and protection of children.

Sex Trafficking Legislation

The tides are changing, the conversations are different, and there is an openness to the dialogue that has never been present before. Currently, in the legislative arena, there is proposed legislation geared towards creating a centralized database for tracking the number of cases reported in Hawaii and demographic information on victims, sex buyers and traffickers. It would also track the number of arrests, prosecutions, and convictions of people who solicit sex in violation of existing laws. There is also an important piece of legislation that would mandate statewide coordinated trainings for law enforcement personnel and the legal community. Hawaii is one of 12 states that have not enacted laws to require public agencies to receive human trafficking training. Ho’ola Na Pua continues to support these efforts through written and verbal testimony.

Continued Care for Child Sex Trafficking in Hawaii

There are significant opportunities in continuing to build the continuum of care needed for the children in Hawaii. This year we are focusing on our programmatic impact and measurement along with continued expansion and sustainability.

Continue to reduce trafficking vulnerability and demand through creative education, advocacy, and partnerships.
Continue to drive a cultural shift in reducing stigma around the issue of trafficking and being a thought leader in the anti-trafficking space
Expanding the much needed Starfish-HOKU group programming into more adolescent facilities both on Oahu and Hawaii Island.
We are continuing to increase the number of trained volunteers for in the Starfish Mentoring program as well as our educational advocacy program to deliver in school prevention education.
We are expanding in school prevention educational opportunities to Maui and Kauai.
Developing an advocacy agenda and engaging our volunteers and supporters to be a part of the needed legislative changes.
We are developing and cultivating more partnerships and collaborative opportunities- because together our impact is greater!

We think and dream BIG. Our staff continues to grow in diverse professional makeup and expertise.

Pearl Haven Sex Trafficking Shelter

Pearl Haven is in renovation phase 3 of 6, and we are near 50% of our project cost raised. We are so thankful for the MacNaughton Foundation and John Dean along with many others who in the fourth quarter of 2018 contributed significantly to helping keep construction moving forward at Pearl Haven. We are at a critical step in this project development and are working on securing an operational partner for the services to be provided on the campus. We believe in quality programming to ensure a sustainable and robust program. The community and national support around the need for a place like Pearl Haven continues to increase and recognition of the level of trauma interventions are becoming apparent. We will do this- Pearl Haven will be completed, and it will be the needed safe space for the girls we serve!

I am forever grateful for your support, encouragement, and for believing in what WE can accomplish together. We have lit a spark that is spreading, and many are joining not only in conversation but also in engagement. We are looking forward to a productive 2019, meeting our goals, exceeding last years impact, and rooting our programmatic efforts. I am honored to be able to continue to do this work, to provide leadership in this space, plant advocacy seeds, and inspire generations of justice seekers.

With a grateful and expectant heart!

– JESSICA MUNOZ

Please consider donating to help continue to make Pearl Haven a reality.

Jessica Munoz is the Founder and President of Ho`ōla Nā Pua. She is also a practicing Nurse Practitioner in Hawaii. While working as a pediatric crisis nurse, Jessica encountered first-hand the brutality and traumatizing effects of sex trafficking on children and young women. She recognized the need for a comprehensive system of care specific to meeting the unique needs of girls who have been sexually exploited. In 2011, Jessica volunteered with a mainland-based organization hoping their stated mission to build a home for trafficked girls would be successful. In 2013 Jessica and members of Ho`ōla Nā Pua decided that in order to complete their mission they needed to be independent, Hawaii established, and focused on their four core program areas of Health, Education, Advocacy, and Reintegration. Ho`ōla Nā Pua was founded on the core premises that sexually exploited children require a safe refuge and comprehensive renewal services tailored to their individual needs.

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