OWR Aids Maui’s Healing Journey
Above photo: OWR staff and Hui Ho‘omalu volunteers
In partnership with Hui Ho‘omalu and Laukanaka, Kamehameha Schools, Maui Arts & Cultural Center (MACC), and the hotel shelters, the Office of Wellness and Resilience (OWR) has been coordinating weekend gatherings at the Hyatt Regency Maui and Royal Lahaina Hotel since early October, including music, cultural, and family activities. Kūkākūkā (talk story) and mental health support are also available for individuals and in group settings from local licensed mental health professionals who have had both specialized post-disaster mental health and cultural training.
Both Hui Ho‘omalu and Laukanaka consist of diverse cultural practitioners with a collective commitment to uplift the Maui community through traditional Hawaiian healing practices. They offer free lomilomi (massage) and bodywork to help survivors in the grieving process and healing journey.
Government staff and volunteers have also offered arts and crafts classes to families at wellness events at the hotel shelters in West Maui.
Above photo: OWR’s Maui-based project manager Keala Kaopuiki-Santos and Jason Jerome from Lahaina Music and the Kanikapila Project.
The MACC has brought in renowned hula practitioners from Maui to teach keiki classes, while volunteers from the Kanikapila Project have delighted those staying in the hotel shelter common areas with music, and provided numerous ukulele lessons to families, as well as free ukuleles to those in need.
In December, staff from the Kōkua Lahaina Rising initiative within the Department of Health Behavioral Health Administration’s Maui District Health Office offered a popular Christmas párol-making workshop. Párol is a Filipino word derived from the Spanish farol, which means lantern.
Weekend wellness events are expected to continue through January 2024.
OWR also collaborated with the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority on healing-centered visitor messaging as West Maui re-opened to tourism. To download the materials for business use and for more information on this effort, visit this link.
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