(gentle music)
- Intergenerational poverty,
intergenerational incarceration,
those things need to stop.
Those things are affecting hugely
our native Hawaiian families.
Aloha, my name is Mark Patterson.
I'm employed by the state
of Hawaii Office of Youth Services.
(gentle music)
The mission, the Opportunity Youth Action in Hawaii
is really to help an aid in ending incarceration
and to address the root problems
of poverty, trauma, education, marginalization,
homelessness, joblessness, sexual exploitation,
substance abuse, and family conflict
that are challenges for our most vulnerable youth
and their families in Hawaii,
so that they healers for themselves and for others as well.
(gentle music)
We tend to use the term
disproportionate treatment
for our Native Hawaiian population.
Many of our children are coming from families
who are supported by the welfare system.
Some of the children are coming from families
where addiction is a generational thing.
Most of their crimes were crimes of survival,
so we had to create a place
where we can deal with the specific populations
and not just have program for them,
but provide them a means for them
to be successful in the community.
The main purpose really is to look at the child
and tell the child the sanctuary is within yourself
and we're gonna show you how you can run into yourself
for the issues that you will face
as you move on through life.
(gentle music)
Every island in Hawaii is unique to its own self
to its own culture,
and we don't wanna bring all the kids
here to the main island.
We'd rather keep them there,
so that they can heal and learn
and be productive in the communities
that they come from.
We wanna take what society calls the problem
and make a healer for the solution
for the future issues.
We believe that the concept and what we've done here
on this piece of property can be duplicated
into the neighboring islands of Hawaii,
Maui and Kauai.
(gentle music)
Western methodologies have been forced upon us
for so long in our state systems,
and they have not worked.
Why can't we use more of what we know
as indigenous people to heal our own people?
Taro is also has always used commonly in our programs
throughout the islands as a a representation of family.
Taro is a canoe plant that was brought here
by our original ancestors
that was the main source of food
for the people of Hawaii.
- We support partners in development
because their vision is to eradicate youth incarceration.
And we know they've been successful in the past.
We know that when young people are treated
with the process of love
and culture and compassion,
which are indigenous to the Hawaiian culture,
that they will then be able to create
a better way forward for themselves.
That approach, I think is one that allows them
to be advocates in their community
and bring their community together.
- We need to begin a new look
at how we groom our future families
on an indigenous model of wellness
where every member of that family is of importance.
Every member of that family is needed
for the success of surviving
in our communities today.
(gentle music)