LIHU‘E — Saying it’s time for county leaders to “put our money where our mouth is,” Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste this week unveiled a comprehensive, youth-activity schedule designed to keep the youngest Kauaians busy and, hopefully, away from drugs. “The
LIHU‘E — Saying it’s time for county leaders to “put our money where our mouth is,” Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste this week unveiled a comprehensive, youth-activity schedule designed to keep the youngest Kauaians busy and, hopefully, away from drugs.
“The community told us what needed to be done,” Baptiste said. “Now we as an entire community — individuals, businesses, government — need to, essentially, put our money where our mouth is,” he said while introducing the youth programs designed to cover the entire island.
For years, Kaua‘i business folks, and leaders of nonprofit organizations and churches have operated programs to try to encourage Kaua‘i youth to avoid drugs and a life of crime and become productive citizens.
Now, Baptiste’s administration wants to give those efforts a boost, he said.
As part of the Kaua‘i Community Drug Response plan, Baptiste and county anti-drug coordinator Roy Nishida announced plans Tuesday to implement a slew of activities islandwide to encourage Kaua‘i youths to avoid using illegal drugs.
Baptiste said he, Nishida and a “prevention committee,” a functioning arm of the five-year drug plan, have identified at least 15 youth activities they hope to fully implement one day.
The activities include a movie program carried out at county parks, teaching youths how to play musical instruments and to sew, a “Big Brothers Big Sisters” project, and life-skills programs.
Business owners are being approached to offer funding, and nonprofit organizations will provide volunteers who are to work with youths ranging between 10 and 18 years of age, Baptiste and Nishida said during a meeting with the media at Baptiste’s office at the Lihu‘e Civic Center.
Baptiste wants as many youths as possible to participate in the program. “The idea is to make sure there is no geographic barrier to an individual’s participation in the activities,” Baptiste said.
Baptiste said residents from every community have called for increased youth activities as a way to lessen illegal drug use on Kaua‘i.
Baptiste and Nishida said they hope to set up the following activities:
- A “Movies in the Park program” in which movies would be shown at county parks. Similar programs are conducted in many municipalities in the United States, Baptiste said. Baptiste said the Kaua‘i program is not intended to compete with commercial theaters, as “first-run” movies will not be shown. Rather, “surf movies” and other movies will be shown, Baptiste said. “It is a place for kids to watch movies, where they can hang in a safe place,” Baptiste said. No admission price will be charged. County officials also hope to work with local independent theaters to use their facilities to offer free showings, Baptiste said;
- Sewing programs. Baptiste said he foresees having eight sewing machines in each of the five districts;
- A teen center, which could provide supervised activities like pool tournaments, ping pong, dance lessons, training and homework, Baptiste said. Corporate sponsors could qualify for up to $15,000 in grant funds from the U.S. Department of Justice to “outfit” a facility, Baptiste said. The facility would be opened every day, including holidays and weekends;
- Big Brothers Big Sisters program, which has been operated successfully elsewhere in Hawai‘i but has yet to reach Kaua‘i. Baptiste said funding has to be found to bring the program to Kaua‘i. Two programs are offered by the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. One is a school-based program allowing teens and adults to mentor other students during after-school activities such as the A+ program. The other program involves matching adults with youths. A staff member has to be hired to connect adults with youths, and the Kaua‘i Police Department would be asked to conduct background checks on the participating adults. Baptiste said he has high hopes for the program. “I believe if each of us took a child under our wing and gave them a positive role model and gave them choices, half of the battle can be won,” Baptiste said. Volunteers would donate four hours a week, and parents or a single parent would have “to agree to let the child go each week,” Baptiste said;
- Freestyle/hip hop dancing;
- A life-skills program;
- Boxing and wrestling;
- A music program;
- A bicycle club, in which youths are taught how to repair bicycles and learn how to make bicycle repairs as an income-producing endeavor;
- A computer program;
- Hawaiian culture intergenerational activities (E Ola Pono);
- Aquatic-based activities, including fishing, swimming and environmental education;
- An economic development enterprise;
- “Girl Power;”
- A “Heroes” program in which between 30 and 40 folks who grew up on Kaua‘i and who have become successful in their professional and private lives would be willing to share their life experiences with youths during visits to Kaua‘i. Baptiste said county officials are considering asking folks like retired U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki to participate. The program is intended to show Kaua‘i youths that people from their island can rise to places of prominence on the world stage, and that they can as well, Baptiste said;
- A teen zone in which teens use their creativity and build a structure on a vacant piece of land, Baptiste said;
- A coaches’ certification program.
The youth programs are intended to run daily from 2:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. five days a week. Weekend hours are to be determined, Baptiste said.
Groups that help set up the programs could be eligible for funding from federal and state governments, Baptiste said.
With the help of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i County officials received $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Justice to help with the fight against drug use on Kaua‘i.
Of the $1.4 million, some $400,000 in grant funds can be used by nonprofit organizations to carry out youth projects on Kaua‘i, Baptiste and Nishida said.
Through a bidding process, individual nonprofit organizations can apply for a maximum of $15,000 in grant funds to carry out youth activities, Baptiste said.
He said preference may be given to groups that can implement a single program in two to three districts.
Another $100,000 in state grant funds also are available for nonprofit groups wanting to set up youth activities on Kaua‘i, Baptiste said. The grant limit for each eligible group is $5,000, Baptiste said.
With the help of Inouye, Kaua‘i County also received another $800,000 to buy more vehicles to enhance the county’s bus system, Nishida said.
The funds can be incorporated into the system to benefit the public and the youths, who would be transported to sites where the youth activities are conducted, Nishida said.
The funding is good for only one year, but the county appears to be in line to get another allotment, Baptiste said. “Indications are that we will get a second year,” he said.
Baptiste said he would like to see a minimum of two, 15-passenger buses used for hourly runs through each of the five districts.
County officials have worked with Janine Rapozo, head of the county’s Transportation Agency in the Offices of Community Assistance, to establish routes within the five districts for the youth-geared activities.
The routes would run from Mana to ‘Ele‘ele, from Kalaheo to Koloa, from Puhi to Hanama‘ulu, from areas in Wailua to Anahola, and from Moloa‘a to Ha‘ena, Baptiste said.
On average, each district will have 10 sites for the activities, although Kapa‘a will probably boast a dozen, Baptiste said.
Baptiste said the plans are not intended to take anything away from organizations that already work with youths.
“With this plan, we are to supplement what is already existing, not to duplicate,” Baptiste said. “We need to commend people who have been doing this for years.”
Baptiste asked residents, and leaders of groups and businesses to step forward to help make the new proposal a success one day, when implemented fully.
The people who helped develop the youth-activities plan include Bernard Carvalho, director of the Offices of Community Assistance; Cindy Duterte, recreation executive with OCA; Marilyn Wong, a youth and senior program coordinator; and community response specialists Theresa Koki, Tim Bynum and Bev Pang.
Lester Chang, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@pulitzer.net.
