Executive Director’s Corner - April 2021

Welcome to our new, quarterly newsletter.  What a time this has been.  A year ago, we pivoted to virtual meetings, circles, conferences and have not looked back!  I know that sometimes it is hard to be hopeful in this challenging time. This is one reason why we are sending this newsletter, so that we can reflect on the many accomplishments that come from all of us working together. This is also why we are hosting the Voices of Hope event: to help us remember to be strong and resilient as inspired by the leadership of our HI H.O.P.E.S board members. Please join us online for this event on April 29th. Hawai`i Theatre is beautiful and so are the voices of our young leaders and the fabulous musicians. 

We named ourselves Effective Planning & Innovative Communication (EPIC) almost 22 years ago and we strive to live up to every part of our name. Two innovative projects that I want to highlight this month are Na Kama a Hāloa and the Pono Process.  EPIC is the backbone organization of an amazing network of community partners working to improve the lives of native Hawaiian children who have experienced foster care. Through this network we are learning about the power of working collaboratively to help the child welfare system not only to protect the safety of children, but to secure the well-being and permanency of children in the system.  The Pono Process works to assure that every child in foster care is afforded their rights as a foster child. A lead and a navigator with lived experience not only help when things go wrong, but proactively teach self-advocacy skills to youth in care.

This quarter EPIC looks forward to helping the state efficiently distribute federal recovery act funds to current and former foster youth. These funds are somewhat flexible and can support food, shelter, and education needs, but must be spent by October 1, 2021. Although extremely helpful, the total is not enough to fully meet the needs of young people impacted by the pandemic.  For instance, we know that more than 50% of the young people surveyed in October 2020 through our HI H.O.P.E.S match program experienced instability in employment. This is going to be an “all hands on deck” operation! It is going to take all of us working quickly to meet the challenge. Thank you so much for being a friend and supporter of EPIC `Ohana.

Mahalo,

Laurie