Community Development
Building cross-sector collaboration to reduce the shelter burden through diverse housing options and scale culturally inclusive health and wellbeing practices.
View menu options below:
July Meeting Recap
KŌCREATE
DESIGNING HOMEGROWN FUTURES
About the Program
KōCreate: Designing Homegrown Futures is a new Vibrant Hawaiʻi initiative, supported by the Trust for Civic Life, that empowers communities on Hawaiʻi Island to shape their own futures.
Rooted in local values, KōCreate brings people together to develop inclusive, community-led solutions for housing, economic growth, energy, and disaster resilience.
No Nā Pua
A Hawaiian Culture-Based Approach
to Rebuilding First Responder Wellbeing
Honoring Native Intelligence and Indigenous Science
For generations, Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners have stewarded knowledge that has been tested, refined, and validated through lived experience and a scientific method grounded in observation, practice, and adaptation. Yet, because this knowledge has not always been documented in Western academic publications, it has too often been dismissed or devalued.
The weight of challenges faced by firefighters and first responders can have lasting effects on mental health, contributing to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and substance use disorders. Conventional mental health treatments often focus solely on symptom management, but they can overlook critical elements such as culture, social support, and community belonging.
The No Nā Pua pilot study engaged active and retired members of the Hawaiʻi Fire Department in loko iʻa (fishpond) restoration at Hale o Lono and Kīholo as a cultural healing practice, exploring how cultural practices may provide a meaningful, holistic approach to mental health care.
Piko Ī: ʻĀina and Spiritual Connection Benefits
-
Mental clarity and stress relief from working with ʻāina
-
Work viewed as therapeutic
-
Socializing without alcohol viewed positively
Piko Ō: Benefits of Connecting to Identity and Culture
-
Strong connection to Hawaiian history, culture, and community
-
Deepened appreciation for traditional Hawaiian practices
Piko ʻĀ: Benefits of Engaging Activity and Purpose
-
Strengthened camaraderie across hierarchical barriers
-
Opportunity for active and retired firefighters to work together
-
Sense of purpose beyond firefighting duties
FINDINGS
Healing through Connection, Identity, and Purpose
The pilot study revealed participant benefits roughly correlated to the Piko ʻĪ, Piko ʻŌ, and Piko ʻĀ framework (Kawaiʻaeʻa et al, 1998), with quantitatively measured mental health benefits that warrant further investigation into culture-based practice's efficacy in managing PTSD and stress, and to support thriving.
Learn more about and support our partners' work: