Hawai‘i Public Health Institute Receives Grant

Hawai‘i Public Health Institute (HIPHI) has been awarded a $2,020 Oha ‘Ahahui grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to hold a Community Health Worker training on trauma-informed care.

The event, titled “How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Public Health System Responses in Hawai‘i,” was held on Friday, April 5, 2019, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Ala Moana Hotel. The event will provide training to help system professionals increase their understanding of trauma, create awareness around the impact of trauma on behavior, improve system responses when professionals are impacted by vicarious trauma and develop trauma-informed responses.

Trauma-informed responses can help to avoid re-traumatizing individuals, and thereby increase safety for all, decrease recidivism in systems and promote and support the recovery of women and men with serious mental illness. Partnerships across systems can also help to link individuals to trauma-informed services and treatment for trauma. The training will also recognize the effects of trauma-related events and other psychosocial stressors on the behavioral health of Native Hawaiians.

Hawai‘i Public Health Institute (HIPHI) provides issue-based advocacy and education, technical assistance, and other capacity-building services through partnerships with government, academia, foundations, businesses and community-based organizations. To meet the needs expressed by community health workers, HIPHI assists with meeting facilitation, workforce development and grant writing to provide ongoing education. HIPHI is also impacting health throughout the state through its core programs: Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i, Healthy Eating + Active Living, and Hawai‘i Farm to School Hui.

“HIPHI would like to thank the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for helping fund this training. Trauma-informed care is a priority training area for community health workers in Hawai‘i and we are grateful to have OHA’s assistance in bringing this training to fruition,” said Jessica Yamauchi, executive director of the Hawai‘i Public Health Institute.

For more information on the event or to participate, go online or contact [email protected].