The Office of Wellness and Resilience (OWR) held its inaugural Kūpa‘a Mauli Ola, Hawai‘i’s Wellness & Resilience Summit, on May 31, at the Koʻolau Ballrooms in Kāne‘ohe. In total, 282 organizational leaders, supervisors, attorneys general, peer supports, and contracted providers from the state departments and nonprofits below attended the event. With the task of rolling out various trauma-informed care (TIC) initiatives with state agencies and the workforce as part of our trauma-informed state declaration alongside Governor Josh Green, M.D., in February 2024, OWR designed the conference event as an opportunity to formally kick off this effort and inspire champions for the cause.
Our primary intentions for the Summit were (a) to provide an understanding of traumainformed care efforts in Hawaiʻi, (b) how and why the Office of Wellness and Resilience (OWR) was established, (c) an overview of the OWR’s first year, including current and upcoming priorities and initiatives. We were able to introduce our trauma-informed state declaration with Governor Green and First Lady Jaime Kanani Green as our morning speakers, highlight the wisdom of Dr. Val Kalei Kanuha as our keynote speaker, and share initial results of our statewide survey on well-being in partnership with the University of Hawai‘i.
Through our interactive panels and live graphic-recording team with The Good Juju, Co., we also heard directly from departments and programs that have successfully implemented trauma-informed care principles, and gather feedback on what’s needed to move the work forward. Attendees engaged in a hands-on Brain Architecture Game to understand the long-lasting impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) on a developing brain, as well as wellness activities of their choice which included ʻukulele and hula, lauhala and coconut frond weaving, and meditation.
We are incredibly grateful to our Summit sponsors for their generous support in making the inaugural Kūpa‘a Mauli Ola, Hawaiʻi Wellness & Resilience Summit, a historic milestone event for the state – Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation, and Hawaiʻi Children’s Action Network. Photo