Our Stories

Learn more from moʻolelo (stories) shared from the Kawailoa campus. Plus stay informed on the latest news, updates, and other happenings.

$20 Million to Reform Youth Incarceration

$20 Million to Reform Youth Incarceration

Originally shared on Hawaii Business Magazine by Noelle Fujii-Oride, click here to read. Opportunity Youth Action Hawaiʻi received a $20 million award in the fall from the Kellogg Foundation to advance its goal of replacing youth incarceration with a restorative...

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A project that aims to end youth incarceration

A project that aims to end youth incarceration

Originally shared on Midweek's Proof Positive series by Annabelle Le Jeune on Dec. 14 2022, click here to read. The Olomana mauna and the Koʻolau’s nestle a 500-acre campus where young people farm kalo, work out, repair an age-old waʻa (canoe), obtain their GED,...

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Helping Homeless Youth in Hawaiʻi

Helping Homeless Youth in Hawaiʻi

Originally shared on PBS Hawaiʻi's Home is Here series on Nov. 30 2022, click here to read. https://youtu.be/xqxnoOEJVbE Hawaiʻi’s homeless crisis is not new. And while outreach and services are often times focused on adults, there is a growing number of youth who are...

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Nonprofit program to end youth incarceration awarded $20M

Nonprofit program to end youth incarceration awarded $20M

Originally shared on Pacific Business News by Kelsey Kukaua on Oct. 11 2022, click here to read. Michigan-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded Partners in Development Foundation $20 million dollars over an eight-year commitment for its project “Kawailoa: A...

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Ending Youth Incarceration in Hawaii and Beyond

Ending Youth Incarceration in Hawaii and Beyond

Originally shared on Now This News by Sara Michel on Oct. 11 2022, click here to read. https://youtu.be/H3ucNoHQTHw #ad In Hawai’i, young Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders are disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system. The Partners in...

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Foundation makes global effort toward racial equity

Foundation makes global effort toward racial equity

Originally shared on ABC News on Oct. 11 2022, click here to view. https://youtu.be/FV4oAnth-Ls President and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation on the Racial Equity 2030 initiative and reveals five awardees who will split $80 million to go toward the future of racial...

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Justice Reform with Mark Kawika Patterson

Justice Reform with Mark Kawika Patterson

Original story published on CNHA's Midday Manaʻo podcast on August 10, 2022, click here to view. On this week’s episode, Manu and Mehana are joined by Mark Kawika Patterson, Administrator of the Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center and Chair of the Hawaiʻi State...

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Improving Hawaii’s Health

Improving Hawaii’s Health

Original story published on Hawaii Business Magazine on August 10, 2022, click here to read. Focusing on vulnerable and underserved populations, Kaiser Permanente provides support to many nonprofit organizations to uplift the community’s overall health and well-being....

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OYAH Policy Intern Presents At CNHA Convention

OYAH Policy Intern Presents At CNHA Convention

On July 21st, Opportunity Youth Action Hawaiʻi (OYAH) intern Leah Delos Santos presented at the 21st Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement convention on behalf of the Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF), featuring the important policy work of OYAH at...

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Voices of Our Community

“Ke Kama Pono really changed my life. Not only in how I’m living now… I was up to the point where I really didn’t want to live anymore and they kind of gave me a reason to live… I’m more of a better person than I was before.”

– N. Momosea

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Join this work to support opportunity youth in building greater belonging, purpose, community connections, education, workforce readiness and skills to contribute to and lead healthy, thriving families and communities in Hawai’i and beyond.