Youth Services Available at Hale Hilina`i, Center is Opened and Blessed

First Circuit Senior Family Court Judge Mark Browning, amazed at the facilities’ before-and-after transformation, said, “This day means so much to me and others in the Judiciary because it’s a passing to something that is incredibly important. Compared to what it was before, this place is now a place of hope and healing.” “This is just the beginning,” he said.

On February 7, 2012, Hale Hilina`i (house of trust, resilience and reliance) was formally opened and blessed as a place where young people at risk learn how to make good choices through the provision of a diversity of services all at one place.

The opening of the center is significant because it is a step towards the creation of a juvenile justice system that relies less on secured detention and more on alternatives that empower youth to make positive changes in their lives.

Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald, one of approximately 40 people present at the blessing of the facility that was formerly the Juvenile Detention Center (now at the court complex in Kapolei), said that the youth who come to Hale Hilina`i “will be able to obtain services to help them live clean, healthy and sober lives, excel in school, control anger, navigate the transition to adulthood, and to find joy and growth through activities as diverse as gardening and ocean sports.”

During the ceremony, the Hawaii Community Foundation was recognized for its financial support, as well as the organizations that are providing the services: the Community Assistance Center; CARE Hawaii; Hawaii Counseling and Education; Surfrider Spirit Sessions; Alu Like; Hale Kipa; the Service Learning Partnership (of KCC, HCC, Chaminade, HPU and UH); Hawaii’s Families as Allies; and the UH Manoa School of Agriculture.