Executive Director’s Corner - September 2021
We hope that you are enjoying our EPIC Connections newsletters. Thank you so much for your support, it means so much to us. We also hope that you and your family are safe and healthy.
In this issue we celebrate 25 years of 'Ohana Conferencing (OC). We started the OC demonstration project in early 1996 after the Judiciary received a grant from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. The project became a model court project of the National Conference of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. The model court sites were: Cincinnati, Louisville, Santa Clara and Hawai'i. The model court sites started visiting one another and sharing information and ideas. It was our turn June of 1996. We started the week with dinner at Maple Gardens. Wednesday June 26, 1996, we gathered more than 160 people at the Japanese Cultural Center to listen to speakers from New Zealand, hear Likeke Paglinawan speak about Ho'oponopono, and then break out into small discussion groups to start to craft the model.
I looked at the list of participants, and here is a random sample of people in attendance: Steve Choy, Lee Dean, Sheila Forman, Loretta Fuddy, David Kam, Dana Kano, Keith Kuboyama, Joe Lapilio, Janice Low, Bert Matsuoka, Dean Nagamine, Bev Nakamoto, Ray Nishimiya, Pat Oshiro, Johnny Papa, Kayle Perez, Debbie Shimizu, Penny Tanaka, Linda Thomas, Mike Tongg, Bode Uale. The list is long but I thought I would highlight a few. Every individual who participated in those meetings can be called a “founder” of 'Ohana Conferencing.
Day three was an all-day conference for 45 DHS workers, which included a mock ‘Ohana Conference, and more discussion and skill building. Day 4 was at the Supreme Court with 24 leaders and policy makers developing the bones, the essentials, and the values of the 'Ohana Conference. Day 5 we did a role play in a classroom at the Law School. It seems like just yesterday in some ways.
It didn’t take long to get that first conference going, but it took a lot of work. Arlynna Livingston created the agenda. The leaders had created the structure and values, but it needed Arlynna to shape the words and the heart. We met with the first family at their home in Wai'anae. While reminiscing, I found what we called the “summary” in a file. It was a letter from me to the family with carbon copies to the participants. “Thank you so much for participating in our first family conference meeting on Saturday, August 31, 1996. It was a pleasure working with you and meeting your children. I would like to take this opportunity to recap very briefly, the results of the meeting…..”
A few months later the family went to court to finalize an adoption and a guardianship. Judge Town sent us an excerpt of the hearing transcript. These are the grandmother’s words “I would like to say something your honor….this case threatened to tear my family apart at the seams….now (mother) has a better outlook. She realizes that we’re not going to push her out…we’re here, we love you, these are your children. But it’s something to realize that without people like …..Arlynna coming in and answering every question, no matter how stupid it sounded, my family would have fallen down and split up. Without your pilot project, your honor, our case would have been stuck in the mud.”
Twenty- five years and 21,808 conferences later, we are still providing that hope and that voice for families. Please join us for our virtual birthday celebration on September 24, 2021. It will be a celebration with fun as well as memories. And, we will be mailing a small gift to everyone who participates that day. Register here: ‘Ohana Conferencing Celebration
September is also very busy for EPIC as we help CWS distribute $600,000 in federal pandemic relief funds to current and former foster youth. In addition to $1000 checks that were distributed to hundreds of eligible foster youth between 14-26 years of, we are preparing duffle bags of comfort and $250 gift cards to distribute to current foster youth. The distribution of these items will be challenging, and we ask for all of your help to get the word out, and to help with distribution. We want every penny to get to the young people!
With aloha,
Laurie
