Tuesday marks a special day for Cecille. “I will have been here for 17 months,” the mother of five, and grandmother of 11 children said while winding down from a day’s work with Ku‘ulei. She and Ku‘ulei are two of
Tuesday marks a special day for Cecille.
“I will have been here for 17 months,” the mother of five, and grandmother of 11 children said while winding down from a day’s work with Ku‘ulei.
She and Ku‘ulei are two of five residents who are staying at the Hope, Help and Healing (House), Kaua‘i.
“This is the only long-term transitional house on Kaua‘i for former inmates,” said Donna Jollay, the executive director for the HHHK program, sponsoring organization for the home for female inmates. She said there are other transitional homes, but this is the only long-term one.
Jollay, who along with her husband Mike Thompson, two volunteers and the residents of the 100-year-old home, have been paying for the maintenance and upkeep of the former Lihu‘e Plantation manager’s house located behind the Aloha Church.
“This is a perfect place for the house,” Jollay said. “It’s got a few neighbors, it’s close to work and close to transportation.”
But at a hundred years old, the house needs work, and Jollay needs help — both financially and professionally.
Since getting the residence from Aloha Church, Jollay said they have been paying for everything out of their own pockets, and funds are limited.
“We just gave it a new coat of paint so it doesn’t look so scary when the ladies come home from work,” Jollay said.
But beneath the pristine coat of white paint, the wood is gutted from termites, a line of ants are in stark contrast as they troop along one of the door jambs at the front entrance.
Inside, the ladies have done a remarkable job of transforming the former estate home into a comfortable living area.
“But there are rooms that still need a lot of work,” Jollay said, noting that last week the ceiling fell from one of the bathrooms.
The transitional home has been successful for its residents, and Cecille, the first resident, said, “This is a good place. It gives me a sense of security and it’s a safe haven to come home to after working.”
Jollay said she started the home after approaching Aloha Church about the former estate home the residents have affectionately labelled “The Mansion.”
Having worked with the California Hope, Help and Healing program, Jollay said the Aloha Church asked if she would help with a drug treatment program.
This ties in with the transitional house which is described as a faith-based sober living home for women.
“We all learn from each other,” Ku‘ulei said. “We go through each other’s problems and issues so we won’t have to make the same mistakes.”
Cecille said living in the mansion has gotten her to where she is today, where she has a full-time job at which she recently was promoted to a higher level of responsibility.
“Before I came here, Warden Neal Wagatsuma of the Kaua‘i Community Correctional Center said I was going to be a pioneer,” she said. “I didn’t know what he meant, but now I want to do the right thing. I just want to keep going forward. I have goals, and I want to stand on my own two feet.”
Cecille said she was incarcerated for three years, and this home has helped her make inroads into becoming part of the community.
But Jollay said the home needs work. If she can get some financial assistance, she would like to have hot water piped into the house, and a 220-volt line installed for laundry equipment.
“When the house is 100 years old, there was no hot water to pipe in, then,” Jollay said. “With no hot water in the kitchen, it’s just not healthy for the women.”
Because of its age, Jollay said there are windows where there are no screens and yellow jackets and the weather come into the house. There are windows that are propped open using pieces of lumber, and despite its liveable appearance, no electrical plates protect the light switches.
Jollay’s office is spread between part of the living room and a room that she is working to try and convert into an office. Overhead, planks in the ceiling have yet to be nailed in place, and there are rooms the ladies have yet to work on.
“It’s definitely a work in progress,” Jollay said.
But with only volunteers, funds are limited, Jollay said. Joining her are Tina Albao, whose first duties included trying to place an ad for help. Clover Wellington Delos Reyes has a full-time job at the Kaua‘i Community Correctional Center and has been helping Jollay since the program got started in February, 2006.
“When I was out on a work detail, we came here and helped paint,” Ku‘ulei said. “I didn’t know it then, but one of the rooms I painted then is where I’m living, today.”
Jollay said they have a fund-raiser planned for September that will be in a lu‘au format with food and entertainment, including hula. This will be held on the grounds of the mansion so people can become familiar with the program and see how much its residents have accomplished.
“Everything raised at this event will benefit the house,” Jollay said.
Additionally, she said they will have an informational table at an upcoming concert at the convention hall where people can stop by and find out more about the HHHK program.
“We want to keep this place open for women,” Ku‘ulei said. “This is a learning experience for the five of us who live here, and it feels good. But what is more exciting is knowing there are women who will come in after us to experience this. We have to keep this place open for women.”
For more information, call HHHK at 635-9077, or visit their Web site at www.hhhk.org.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
