top of page
VH HEALTH LOGO.png

Health and Wellbeing Stream

Increasing collaboration across sectors to promote, incubate, and scale

culturally inclusive health and wellbeing practices.

Social Service Navigators

Community-Based Navigators are available to support and help connect you with social services for free.

Mālamalama: A Guide for Compassionate and Active Listening

Mālamalama is a course that equips participants to support others through empathy and active listening, fostering community connection and resilience by teaching essential communication and self-care practices.

 

This course covers various topics like presencing, reflecting, clarifying, and releasing, alongside activities and discussions aimed at enhancing participants' skills in empathetic engagement.

Email contact@vibranthawaii.org to request a workshop or become a trainer.

First-Aid CPR & AED Certification

Ready to earn your certification in First-Aid, CPR, or Hands-Only CPR?

Meet The Team

Program Coordinator

Lance Uchida

Islandwide

Instructor

Laycie Tobosa

Hilo

Instructor

Jason Trimble

Puna Mauka and Hilo

Instructor

Kainoa Willey

North Kohala

Instructor

Gerry Delgado

Waimea, Honokaʻa, and Hilo

Instructor

Shylynn Kawamoto

Hilo

Instructor

Darryl Oliveira

Islandwide

Instructor

Naomi Marks

Hilo

Instructor

Lei Demello

Puna and Hilo

Instructor

Shonna Ontiveros

North and South Kona

Instructor

Maile England-Lee

Hilo/Puna

Instructor

Leināʻala Kekai

Islandwide

Instructor

Kevin Kushel

Puna

Instructor

Jessica Moe

Volcano and Kaʻū

Instructor

Siobhan Malady

Hāmākua, Waikoloa, and Kohala

Instructor

Jill Ann Johnson

Hilo

No Nā Pua
background.png
VH_SecondaryLogos_White_WorkforceCommunityResilience.png

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

fish_edited.jpg

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:

bottom of page