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.
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.
On Saturday, October 29th, volunteers gathered at Pearl Haven’s campus for Make a Difference Day 2017. For 16 years, this annual day of service has brought U.S. communities together with the simple goal of improving the lives of others. 
Anne Forshey’s journey with Ho‘ola Na Pua began with the simple act of opening the Midweek. After reading last year’s feature on Ho‘ola Na Pua, she immediately got on board with the organization, attending a volunteer orientation and supporting the annual Pearl Gala. 
On Saturday, April 1st, volunteers from around the island gathered to give back to the community in celebration of Good Deeds Day. Created in 2007, this annual, global event celebrates the power of volunteering and giving. 
As a graduate student in the field of social work, Marianne Fontillas had researched the topic of sex trafficking in depth. When she joined Ho‘ola Na Pua’s advocacy efforts, she turned knowledge into action, putting her talents towards one of the organization’s biggest events of the year. 
Ho‘ola Na Pua’s mission spans four core pillars of Health, Education, Advocacy, and Reintegration, all of which address a different facet of sex trafficking in Hawaii. As the 2016 Mrs. Hawaii United States, Kelly Kitashima has played a key role in Ho‘ola Na Pua’s goal of advocacy, using her platform to bring awareness to this issue. 
