LIHU‘E – The head of a community initiative for youths detailed how high schoolers and middle schoolers on the island are “really struggling” with issues, including poor mental health, substance abuse and loneliness, in a presentation to Kaua‘i County Council members this week.
She says that in order to solve the problem, more “safe spaces” for youths need to be created in the county.
The briefing was given by Alice Luck, the president and CEO of Kaua‘i Action & Planning Alliance, whose presence had been requested by County Council Chair Mel Rapozo on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
The nonprofit organization runs the Kaua‘i Resilience Project, an initiative working to implement programs and strategies to help youths overcome adversity.
Luck’s suggestions at the meeting followed her lengthy presentation on a “youth mental health crisis” on both a national and state level.
Luck referred to national and local data, including 2021 data from the Hawai‘i Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
According to the survey, 33 percent of Kaua‘i high school students reported suffering from depression. The survey also said 20 percent of high schoolers on Kaua‘i had self-harmed, 9 percent had attempted suicide, and 34 percent reported having no supportive adult outside of school.
The results were also similar for Kaua‘i middle school students, with 20 percent reporting depression, 22 percent saying they had self-harmed, 11 percent reported having attempted suicide, and 30 percent saying they had no supportive adult outside of school.
Luck also said teenagers are dealing with significant financial worries, overwhelming pressure to achieve, a lack of meaning or purpose in their lives, and a sense of not mattering to others.
She noted the Kaua‘i Resilience Project completed a youth focus group “a few years ago,” which found teens reported feeling that “Hawai‘i is more for tourists than it is for them.”
“And they’re tired of the business community shooing them away and not welcoming them,” she added.
According to Luck, youths are looking for more mental health support, options to learn financial literacy, and more activities to do in the community outside of school.
“We know in rural areas, the suicide rate is higher because there just isn’t enough for kids to do and they end up drinking and doing drugs and getting into trouble at the beach and the bus stop. They hang out wherever they can because there just isn’t enough places for them to hang out,” Luck said.
Luck suggested increasing the number of “supervised and safe” spaces for adolescents across the island by adding more recreational activities, enhancing the county’s “summer fun” program, which is currently only offered to kids between 5 and 11 years old, expanding the county’s junior lifeguard program, and creating staffed youth centers at affordable housing developments.
She also asked the county to make county bus passes free for teenagers, noting that each $1 ride can add up if a student needs to use it every single day.
She also noted that high-risk activities, including juvenile crime and drug use, are typically highest after school hours when parents are still working.
If teens aren’t involved in constructive activities outside of school, they’re three times more likely to skip class and experiment with drugs, which tends to happen between the ages of 12 and 15, according to Luck.
“(Youth on Kaua‘i) really, really need your support,” she said to council members. “Anything we can do to support this generation because they’re really having a hard time.”
Kids ‘glued to their phone’
The conversation quickly turned into a discussion of technology addiction, as Rapozo said there are plenty of activities for youths to do on the island. But, he said, teenagers today are more interested in being on their phones.
Luck attributed young people on the island “being on their phones constantly” to a lack of available recreational activities.
“They don’t want to be (on their phones), by the way,” she said. “There’s just nothing else to grab their attention.”
But Rapozo countered her statement, saying even when you look at O‘ahu and Los Angeles, where there are “tons of things to do,” young people are always on their phones.
“Every kid (across the country) is glued to their phone. Everyone wants to be a TikTok superstar or influencer now,” he said.
Rapozo noted “being baffled” every time people say there’s nothing for youths to do on the island, noting beaches, parks, basketball, and several other activities are all available.
“I think just generationally the interests have changed. There are no longer as many (outdoorsy) people as there used to be,” Rapozo said. “What are they missing? What are they not getting?”
Luck replied that teenagers are looking for “just hang out spaces,” and that unsupervised beaches and parks are often not safe for them.
“They might be bothered by other kids or young adults who are negative influences,” she said. “What we hear a lot (from teenagers), is just there’s no space for us to hang out,” she said.
Later on, Councilwoman Felicia Cowden noted society’s reliance on technology is a problem not just for adolescents.
“I do want to acknowledge the difference of having cellphones. Even I’m addicted,” she said.
“We weren’t comparing ourselves to a world of things, nor a world of fears,” she said, on the difference of growing up today.
She added that social media has caused teenagers to know “every horrible thing” happening in the world.
Staffing challenges
Cowden noted the county wants to increase the number of supervised programs, but they wouldn’t be able to find people to staff the programs.
“Nobody (is) applying for the jobs,” she said of the main challenge facing the county.
“We can’t find the people to do Summer Fun,” she said of the request to expand the county’s youth summer program.
Councilman Bill DeCosta suggested having sociology, psychology, or nursing students from Kaua‘i Community College earn college credits to help staff more youth programs.
“They (could) come for a couple of hours and help staff you guys with the kids,” said DeCosta, adding that the Filipino Cultural Center would be an ideal location. “You got a basketball court right there. You have a soccer field.”
During the meeting, Luck emphasized her organization’s goal of getting more youths involved in a variety of supervised activities, but barriers include transportation and program fees.
“We have 42 percent of families who are ALICE Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed families,” said Luck, who was referring to people living above the poverty level but unable to afford basic necessities.
So they can’t afford after-school programs, they can’t afford the bus fee for their kid,” she said.
Rapozo noted the information was helpful, and he would consider it while planning the 2024-25 county budget.
“We need to know. We (have) budget pretty soon. In a few months, we’ll be heading to budget,” he said.
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Emma Grunwald, reporter, can be reached 808-652-0638 or egrunwald@thegardenisland.com.
We all need to find ways to connect with Kauai’s teens- churches also need to offer more for our teens!