Our youth are in crisis.
Hawaii County recently launched a Fentanyl Task Force in response to an increase of 200% in overdose related deaths last year. From March 2020 to October 2020, nationwide mental health–related emergency department visits increased 24% for children ages 5 to 11 and 31% for those ages 12 to 17 compared with 2019 emergency department visits, according to CDC data.
Mental health issues exacerbated by the pandemic, combined with long-festering substance use disorders in our community, are colliding in our youth population in a way that has long-reaching consequences for our entire island.
Hokupa‘a has always been a nonprofit that brings the community together around our young people. Our kuleana to empower them — our future leaders and agents of change — is the North Star that unites us.
However, in 2022, we’ve pivoted our focus to a key solution we feel can help address the many issues our youth are facing — social-emotional wellbeing.
In order for our students to thrive, their health and stability is foundational — and a complex mix of social, economic, and pandemic-related pressures has made that foundation precarious. We know educators, caregivers, and families are under tremendous strain, and only when healthy and whole are they able to provide the support our haumana need to thrive.
We at Hokupa‘a believe these issues are critical for our community to address, and commit to acting as convenors and collaborators in this important work. This year our renewed focus is to come alongside schools, communities, and families to work hand-in-hand. We are conveners, connectors, catalysts, and capacity-builders. We support cross-sector collaboration and finding meaningful solutions to these growing problems.
Our call-to-action to you, our community, today is this: look for us. And then join us.You can find us at www.hokupaa.org.
Our mission is far-reaching and we need to be in many places at once. Follow us on social media, subscribe to our newsletter, volunteer for our outreach opportunities. Together, we can be the safety net that many of these youth need to reach for a brighter future.
Kamela Souza is coordinator for Hokupa‘a.