Community leaders address addiction problem

KAPAA — Drug addiction affects our family, friends and neighbors.

Community members united together to help at the “Drug Addiction 101” meeting hosted last week by the Mayor’s Advisory Committee for Treatment and Community Integration.

The gathering held at Kapaa Missionary Church on Tuesday encouraged nonprofit organizations and rehabilitation programs to work together with the common goal of helping those suffering from substance abuse and preventing unnecessary deaths.

“We provide a venue where we can help families that are struggling with a family member or friend that is a victim to drugs,” said Pastor Jed Young. “People can come out and hear whether what they’re doing is actually good for the person trying to get out or whether they’re actually enabling the person or they’re too harsh. A lot of these families have someone in their family, but they don’t know what to do.”

Dozens of organizations at the event provided information about resources and programs including Haleopio Kauai, Hoola Lahui Hawaii, Ahu Waiwai, Teen Challenge of the Hawaiian Islands, CARE Hawaii, Teen Care, Workforce Development, Narcotics Anonymous, Drug Nuisance and Abatement, Ultimate Hawaii Trail Run and U-Turn For Christ.

“I’m here to hear what the community is looking for and how we can better serve them,” said Anna Spivak, program director for E Ala Hou, which offers substance abuse treatment services for pregnant and parenting women. “The aim of the program is to reduce chemical dependency within the community and raise awareness and educate. We give them hope and desire again to self motivate and be better parents.”

One of the key speakers at the meeting was Gina Kaulukukui, program director for Life’s Bridges Hawaii. She presented information about services on how to deal with crisis situations and shared information about suicide and how it impacts the community.

“In 2008, Life’s Bridges, along with the chief of police and several other community agencies, got together and started the Prevent Suicide Kauai Task Force,” Kaulukukui said. “Our ultimate goal is to educate our community about what somebody at risk for suicide looks like, where you can go for help and training people, because there is help and there is hope.”

More than 12 percent of Kauai’s high school students are at risk for attempting suicide, so community members need to recognize the signs, Kaulukukui said.

Per capita, Kauai is second highest in the nation and has the most suicides in the state with 22 in 2017. 

“Even though we have a problem, we can make a difference,” Kaulukukui said. “Make it safe for teenagers to have a trusted adult outside of your family to talk to if they’re in crisis. We need to be prepared to listen without judgment and help direct them to the help and support they need.”

The meeting provided an opportunity to share personal experiences with others, while gaining valuable insight on the issue of substance abuse, its negative consequences and the impact on families and the community.

“It’s very helpful to the families,” Young said. “I like to see more families come out. All the agencies come out, we can talk to people, you can find counselors and resources that will help out. So you don’t feel like you’re all alone. There’s a lot of people struggling out there; it’s not just me.”

Hawaii Commissioner for National and Community Service Janice Bond struggled with addiction when she decided to stop smoking cigarettes years ago.

She helped form the teen organization, SHOUT (Students of Hawaii Opposing Use of Tobacco) and published several books before turning it over to Kauai American Cancer Society to utilize their resources. The books share success stories about individuals overcoming addiction from various substances.

“It important to the community because we need to reach out and share with the ohana especially,” Bond said.

Maile Murray, prevention coordinator with the County of Kauai, also gave a presentation on coalition building.

She was hired a year ago with a grant by the Department of Health’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse division to focus on the prevention of underage drinking and other drug use.

Through this three-year federal grant, called Partnerships For Success, she has been tasked with building a coalition of community-based organizations.

Murray assessed the community by surveying 14 different agencies and found Kauai youth, especially the economically challenged, are using marijuana, alcohol, methamphetamines, cocaine and tobacco at school and at home, accessed through older youth, parents and family members. Some children are even sniffing glue and drinking liquid hand sanitizer to get high.

To reduce substance abuse, she suggests strong parent involvement, increasing activities and resources, early intervention and community integration after rehabilitation or incarceration. Forming a coalition would bring together parents, teachers, law enforcement, government agencies, media, business people, religious leaders, health providers and other community activists for mobilizing at the local level.

“It’s a great avenue to get work done, receive funding and hopefully decrease some of the numbers with alcohol and drug use for youth,” Murray said. “Coalitions take work, a lot of it is volunteer people.”

Drug Free Communities is one federal funding source that has provided $95 million this year nationally for 2,000 coalitions. Kauai and Big Island are the only two Hawaiian islands that currently don’t operate a coalition to help reduce substance abuse.

“When we have our collective voices together saying ‘We need help,’ I think we have more power,” said Brian Kohatsu, therapist and Drug Court Program substance abuse counselor. “So that’s what we’re hoping to accomplish.”

The county is in the process of building a $5 million adolescent healing and treatment center scheduled to open in November 2018. Sober Living Housing is also interested in locating affordable rentals for rehabilitation services on the island.

“We are here in this together,” said Kohatsu, a recovering alcoholic and addict. “I understand a little bit on both sides. Once you start getting into it, you realize change is a bigger thing.”

“As a parent, I need to believe that this change can happen, and it is only by uniting with other parents and seeing success stories,” Kohatsu added. “This meeting is just a start; there is so much more we can do.”

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Editor’s note: A correction to the title of Maile Murray was made to this story.