 Aloha, I'm Marsha Joyner and we are Navigating the Journey. Navigating the Journey is dedicated to exploring the options and choices in life. Today we will journey into an innovative place for people who have made different choices in life and now want to make the change in their lives. Ho'omau K'Ola is a wonderful magical place out in the Waianae coast and it offers services for adults 18 and older who are seeking help and treatment for chemical dependence. Although Ho'omau K'Ola facilities are located only in Waianae, the services are open to chemically dependent individuals of any Hawaiian island who are willing to come to the Waianae coast for such services. Priority, of course, is given to pregnant women, IV drug users, and homeless individuals. And one of the, what shall I say, movers and shakers and I'm lost for a word. And that's my dear friend Ross Kamakahi. Ross, as the name implies, is native Hawaiian, has been all over the world, traveled everywhere. He's got a JD, a master's in business administration and has built kayaks and airplanes and has done everything and so he now comes home to be the rudder in this wonderful program. So tell me, tell me, Ross, tell me all about you first with the name like Kamakahi. That sounds familiar. Well, thank you, Marcia, and aloha kaki haka. Actually I did most of my education abroad, but my high school years I did at Levergul High School, public education, and then I did undergrad and graduate school later on when I was a little more mature. But the essence of me now in my later years is to contribute back to society in a format where I can assist that population which I emanate from and the need exists. Well now, many years ago, I don't know how many years, you told me, and I hope this is okay, Ross of course like everybody of his age was in Vietnam. And he suffered with, what is that horrible disease, Agent Orange. So he tells me that he had Agent Orange and he was going to die. So he decided to come home to die and instead of dying, he's living and he's been living so that tells you about coming home to your roots, comes back to your people, back to local foods and steering this wonderful program. Well, I'm just helping the steerer and the steerer of course is Dr. Patty Isaacs, the executive director. She is a wonderful, wonderful person. So let's talk about this innovative, what makes this program, innovative substance abuse treatment and recovery, cultural base, so what makes this different from all the other programs we hear about? I think two things in particular separate us probably from the status quo and that one, the first one is the culture we've, Dr. Patty through research and honoring Kupuna has kind of woven cultural practices and best Western practice together to form what she calls the cultural, the weave, the Ho'omauke'ola weave and it's a combination of values, morals on the culture side and not necessarily only culture from Hawaiian culture but culture in general. So as you stated earlier, we take clients, what we call Ho'omana, from across the state but even from the mainland. Oh really? Yes, indeed. And those are telltale stories from as far as Rhode Island all the way to the West Coast. So and we have some with us today in our current class. Now I have heard that you were ranked number one in the state in what you do. Yes. So, now this is what, a nine month, is that correct, nine month program from beginning to end a person goes through all the different steps, is that correct? Yes, currently the research according to Dr. Patty and what she's researched in the past and currently the longer you're in the program the more effective the outcomes would be. I would think so. And some facilities or programs have very short windows of engagement or program and often that becomes a revolving door and eventually they'll either go to Ho'omau or San Island which is the most restrictive program. But there's a need for that because some clients need that regimen, that style of treatment. Our outcomes, the success of our outcomes come not only from the wheeze that I mentioned earlier but we're an Aina-based program and we have over 1100 acres in Waianae Valley. Wow. Yes. And our Ho'omana, our clients are up on the Aina for treatment Monday to Friday without Thursday and Thursday we have workshops, some culture, some educational, some workforce development on that day. So when you say they're on the Aina, do they work the land, tell me what that means when you're on the Aina. Well sometimes we have kupuna that come and talk stories, have talk stories sessions with the Ho'omana. Sometimes we have kupuna that volunteer to come up and kana kapila which is ukulele and singing and the Ho'omana join in that session with them and sing and play instruments and dance. Well I've seen them dance now, they are wonderful. We've expanded that at the Ho'omana Kaila to do public appearances. Of course they're volunteering to do so and currently we have a partnership with the Hyatt Hotel in Waikiki. Very good. Yes. And it's just an amazing, amazing transformation when both the community, the kupuna and the Ho'omana, the clients gel because they get a taste, touch and immersion into now a clean world. So does it build confidence in a world that they didn't see before? Is that what happens, this transformation? Absolutely. You know their stories that they have for themselves aren't really unique. A lot of the population out there, they go through trials and tribulations, whatever that may be. The struggle, the human struggle is hard enough without it, but it's just amazing if you see them in the first stage of Hala, which means rough, and go all the way to graduation, it's just amazing. And you can see progress through the different stages. Now you have different stages. So how are they housed, how do you separate the newbies, the new people from the second stage and the third stage, where are they housed? Okay, we actually just recently separated by gender, we put all the men under one leader, our Connie manager, and he's responsible for all the Connie, the men, from entry, which is the Hala residential stage, the TLP, Therapeutic Living Program, clean and sober, and then starting October it will be recovery hall, which will extend our program adding more time to it. The women are in a separate house, we have a front house and a back house, and the residential part is in the front house of a property in Y&I, and we have a Wahini manager who's responsible for all the women throughout the program, all the way from the residential, we don't have a Therapeutic Living Program as of this moment, but we're always looking for the opportunity, and then the clean and sober, and then starting October one we'll have a recovery hall. So do you ever go out of the facility outreach or are you confined to having people come to you? We actually, because we serve the homeless, right, it's one of our priorities, we can't, if we're serving them, we can't really wait for them to come to us. We have feelers out, and we have people just looking for those that we can assist, and they do outreach, and then through outreach or referrals they come into our program. Now we have to take a break, and we'll be back in one minute, and then tell us all the other wonderful things, especially more about the INA, okay? This is Think Tech Hawaii, raising public awareness. Freedom. Is it a feeling? Is it a place? Is it an idea? At Dive Heart we believe freedom is all of these and more, regardless of your ability. Dive Heart wants to help you escape the bonds of this world and defy gravity. Since 2001, Dive Heart has helped children, adults, and veterans of all abilities go where they have never gone before. Dive Heart has helped them transition to their new normal. Search diveheart.org and share our mission with others, and in the process help people of all abilities imagine the possibilities in their lives. We all play a role in keeping our community safe. Every day we move in and out of each other's busy lives. It's easy to take for granted all the little moments that make up our every day. Some are good, others not so much, but that's life. It's when something doesn't seem quite right that it's time to pay attention. Because only you know what's not supposed to be in your every day. So protect your every day. If you see something suspicious, say something to local authorities. I love her. And we're back with my dear friend, my new best friend, Ross Kamakahi, from this wonderful, wonderful Ho'omau Keola. And it is an innovative substance abuse treatment and recovery facility. He was just telling me that they have a thousand acres on the Ina up in and Wai'anai Valley. Just fabulous, lovely, lovely, and it just feels so good back as you go up the mountains and with the stream running through and just old Hawaii, really old Hawaii. Now of course that does something to me, but what about your clients? Do they feel that the magic of that location or is this different for them? I think it's a learning process for them at the beginning because they're working out the roughness. But there's some transformation that occurs probably after the first thirty days of program and continues throughout where they love to go up there. You know, they work hard in the morning until noonish, noon, one o'clock, and then they're able to go canoeing, you know, paddling at Pokai Bay. Now that's hard work. Paddling is hard work. Well, it's in the ocean. So they get wet and they get to do something, I guess, what they would call fun, but they look forward to that. And even a member of our board, she heads to that program as far as she volunteers skippering the canoes and teaching about the canoes, about how they're made and the history of the canoe and all of that, because that's part of the canoe, is learning about the history of the canoe and safety and how to paddle, which helps them in the teamwork, you know, so it enhances their learning experience. So is that part of the therapeutic living? It's part of the treatment all the way through because our residential program paddles on Fridays and our outpatient paddles on Monday. So what, you mentioned that you have other people, Kupuna come in for different classes. What, Ross, tell me, what else do they do, what other classes do they have? Well, we've gotten many of various types. Uncle Eddie Akana, the Royal Order, has done melly, through melly, through singing, songs and ukulele, and he's very good at place. So he'd ask the Hamana, but where are you from? I'd say Rihui, Kauai, and then he'll play a song of that place, you know, and form, educate the Hamana of the melly that belongs to the place. So does he do storytelling? Yes. Why not? He's just full of stories. We have Uncle Glenn Keela, who's the kahu of that valley. Oh. His family has been there since inhabited, and he has Kuliyama over Punama Ula, which is the name of that area. So when he comes aboard, he talks about place, specifically of the Aina, and it's just, it's magical. And it's first source. So the information he's giving is… It's real, yes. Yes, very well. So now they're learning, and they're working, and so that works out some of the stress, and gets rid of whatever they were addicted to. Yes. So what happens is, we grow, we plant, we harvest fruits, vegetables, flowers, a mamaki tea garden that's… We have three trees donated by another kupuna, our Dr. Paddy's spiritual guide, Uncle Helen Mano. Oh, yes. Yes. He made, for me, the most beautiful rose, because my name is Marsha Rose. Yes. He made this gorgeous rose. I don't know, it looks like silk, but it's made of feathers. Yes. Yes. So he's a kahili kumu, so he's a kahili master. Oh, just gorgeous. And he even teaches the Hamana how to not only make the kahili, the history behind it, the cultural relativness, and how to repair pre-existing. You know, like do modifications to it to update it, or yes. Yes. So when they're now, they're growing through this, and you said this is nine months. Yes. So they process and keep moving and keep moving. Do you have, oh, what am I trying to say? Ross, help me here. When they graduate, do you have a follow-up, a way to keep them connected? What is the next step after graduation? Yes, what we do is we, for grant purposes, we track six months followed after that to ascertain if they've had any emergency hospital stays, if they're employed or going to school, or what they're doing at the end of six months. And our outcomes are great on that. We are looking to bolster that now with another partnership with another gentleman and his organization to do our workforce development. And that's still, we're trying to rough out that part, but once that's in, in place and moving, we'll complete, we'll be a more complete agency with even greater outcomes than the ones we're having now. What about the, Ross, what about the families of the clients? How do they, I don't think you send a person back after they've been through all this environment where they first got started with this chemical dependence. What happens now? What about the family that they came from? How do you help the family or do you? Well, one of the things we try to do is family reunification. And that comes in many different forms because when they're in program, when they're in treatment, they're forming new relationships. You know what I mean? They're with that group as long as they're in program. And so when they join our program, they're a member of our family. So they're welcome to come back. And many do. Many stay connected to us and work behind them. Or come back as a counselor, as a CAA counselor or better. And it wouldn't, it's not unusual. You know, we have some job opportunities that the one, the recent graduates can partake and if they feel like doing it or want to do that. And that's working on the farm itself. Well, what I was going with that was the families that they left behind. How do you incorporate, I suppose somebody was married and has children. How do you incorporate that existing family with the new family? Or do you? Well, we have, once a week, while they're in the residential stage, they have family day. We try to work on their family reunification once they begin their healing process. And that's usually a Saturday or Sunday. Or if we're doing a community project of shopping center or the hotel, we offer an invitation to them to invite a family member or to attend. So they can see the progress they're making, the change in the demeanor. And until later on is when they're further on in their treatment, at which time we do more of a focus. We invite them up to talk story sessions on the INA because that's the perfect place. We have children who are CPS controlled, who meet with their mothers on the INA. And we have parents who come from Waimanalo to visit their daughter or their son. We have wives who visit their husbands or fiancés up on the INA and on family days, as I mentioned. But we try to exhaust all opportunity to reunify the family. And I think we're getting better at it. Of course. How old is this facility? How long have you been in business? Well, Ho'umal Keola started a little over 30 years ago. Thirty? Yes. And it was called the Hawaii Addiction Center at that time. And then they changed the name. They had a name changed shortly thereafter to the current Ho'umal Keola. And, yeah, so we've been in existence over 30 years, 501C3. And, oh, by the way, on October 8th we're having our second annual fundraiser at Maniku Hanua. Okay. The Sunday. So that's just a plug for the program. That's a plug, yes. Okay. Well, you'll come back and remind us before then. Yes. I'll probably ask Dr. Patty to come. Okay. Now, she doesn't look old enough to be A, Dr. Patty, and B, to even do this. But she's such a wonderful human being. Dr. Patty Isaacs, for those of you that probably don't know who we're talking about. Dr. Patty Isaacs is a beautiful woman. Even though she's not Hawaiian, you wouldn't think so the way she dances at the Hula. Yeah. And she's just perfect. So, yes, we will invite her. In fact, I tell her that she's really more Hawaiian than me. One, yes. The more culturally adept than I am. Because her dissertation was Oba'a Aina. Uh-huh. And she believes in the Aina, the land, healing. Uh-huh. Healing the homana. Healing people. You know, working the land. Well, she is such a beautiful human being. And, yes, we want her to come back. And you, also. And what day is the eighth on October? Sunday. Yes. Jay, can we take the camera out? I hope so. So we can come see and visit with you. Yes. Is that okay? Absolutely. All right. I wish Ross, again, it's always a pleasure to spend time with you. And Aloha, and we will see you next week. Aloha. There you are.