Humanity Hale receives $500,000 grant to support vulnerable Native Hawaiian youth on Big Island

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is providing a $500,000 grant to Humanity Hale to support vulnerable Native Hawaiian youth on the Big Island through trauma-informed and culturally grounded programming, according to a news release from Humanity Hale, a grassroots nonprofit based in West Hawaiʻi.

The three-year grant will help strengthen connections to ‘ohana (family), moʻomeheu (culture), and ʻāina (land and water), which aligns with the Office of Hawaiian Affairʻs Mana i Mauli Ola strategies. 

“This grant carries with it a tremendous opportunity for our future generations, a great shift in our community,” said Charis Higginson, founder and executive director of Humanity Hale. “It is a lifeline for our keiki and ‘ōpio who carry deep generational wounds.”

This funding will support Humanity Hale’s “Hoʻōla Nā Keiki” initiative — a multi-faceted healing program for Native Hawaiian at-risk and foster youth and those facing complex trauma.

Through the leadership of community leaders, Kumu Ka’ea Lyons-Yglesias, Kahelelani Lyons Alohikea-Smith, Nā Kumu and Founders of Hālau Ka’eaikahelelani, young people will be lead through the wisdom of Hawaiian cultural education, indigenous lead mentorship, ‘āina-based learning, and life-skills development.

The program seeks to increase young people’s resiliency and self-efficacy.

Activities will include trauma recovery circles, lāʻau lapaʻau workshops, reef preservation efforts, and ancestral skill-building with cultural elders.

Over the three-year period, the program aims to serve more than 120 Native Hawaiian youth, with the goal of at least 90% reporting improvements in cultural identity, emotional wellbeing and practical life skills. 

Higginson said the grant will help “reconnect our youth to the roots that nourish them, their mo’okū’auhau (family history/ancestry,) their land, environment and their own inner strength. Together, we are building spaces of safety, sovereignty and healing for our lāhui.” 

She added: “This partnership with [the Office of Hawaiian Affairs] is a powerful affirmation of the work we do alongside our community. It reminds our keiki and ʻōpio that they are not forgotten. They are cherished, capable, and part of something greater. … They are our legacy.”