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Photos by Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Ada Summers, right, mother of four, was determined to
get off welfare. She learned employment skills at the
Ohana Center early this year and has just gotten a job.
She says the center also gave her courage.

‘Ohana: More
than just a word;
it’s a way of life’

The center aids children
by helping parents gain
parenting and job skills

Services for families

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By Pat Gee
Star-Bulletin

Four years ago, Hercules Huihui decided that custody of his two little girls was more important than the material things he once valued.

Huihui wasn't their father, but he had raised them from birth while their mom, a former girlfriend, was in and out of jail. They were clinging to his legs and crying, begging not to be taken away by the state Child Protective Services worker.

Huihui threatened to throw the CPS worker off the balcony, but he learned the right way was through a lawyer and the Waipahu Elementary-Hawaiian Electric Ohana Center.

It worked.

After 1 1/2 years, he received custody of his girls, Lashelle, 7, and Maile, 12.

The center, a project under the YMCA, has focused on parents of children at risk of abuse and neglect since 1998, according to coordinator Lorrie Kanno.

The center's goal for the past two years has been to help parents to "become better parents" and prevent the need for CPS to step in through a pilot program called the "Waipahu Neighborhood Place," she said.

The state Legislature funded two such programs in 1998 -- the other one is in Kona -- which have helped hundreds of families and will probably be extended to other areas in the state, Kanno said.

Emphasis has been put on teaching parents basic employment skills so they can find jobs and get off welfare, and on workshops teaching parenting skills.

The center also provides respite, or temporary child care, to parents who use the time for doctor or job interview appointments, errands, or just a break from the stress of raising kids, Kanno said.

That's how Huihui first got acquainted with the center.

He needed child care so he could undergo surgery for a chronic medical condition, and then he got help with other things, she said.

That happens quite often with parents who start with respite care, then receive help with food, school supplies, employment skills or job hunting, she said.

In March, Huihui was hired part time to run the center's employment skills program after putting in hundreds of volunteer hours during the past few years.

The man who didn't even graduate from high school is now also a full-time Leeward Community College student, aiming for a degree in human services, and is active in his church and community.

"After receiving all these gifts, I felt compelled to start giving back ... I tell people: it feels good to receive, but it feels better when you can give back," said Huihui, who has been a welfare recipient.

"I was always dependent on someone else. But the center teaches us how to be interdependent on each other, how to network. It's an awesome thing -- I love where I'm at now," he said.

Ada Summers of Waipahu hadn't had a job for four years, but the mother of four was determined to get off welfare. She signed up for the center's employment skills program early this year and just got hired by a restaurant.

"I want out of welfare," she said. "I've been wanting to get off for a long time. My kids are getting bigger and they want more. And I want to support my kids on my own."

She learned computer skills at the center and basic things like "how to get along with people."

"The people at the ohana gave me the courage to make me feel that I can do it," Summers said. "And I'm proud of how we're handling my family."

Huihui said the center emphasizes character development in all its programs, and the employment skills class teaches values such as responsibility, consistency and how to work well with people.

"At the center, 'ohana' is more than just a word, it's a way of life that leads to harmony," he said.

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Services for Waipahu’s families

The Waipahu Elementary-Hawaiian Electric Ohana Center, home of the Waipahu Neighborhood Place, works out of the elementary and intermediate schools, the Waipahu United Church of Christ and the Westgate Shopping Center.

It offers a wide variety of services for families whose children are at risk of abuse and neglect, including:

Respite and crisis care services: Temporary child care, emergency care.
Adult education and employment services: Basic skills courses to help parents obtain high-school equivalency degrees and develop employment skills.
Community education and collaboration: Through community meetings, flyers and government/private agencies, information is provided on child abuse, substance abuse and welfare reform.
Family strengthening workshops and activities: Monthly workshops and a six-week program.
Youth Outreach Services: Tutoring and mentoring, Polynesian cultural skills, caring leadership skills.
Outreach and Collaborative Case Management Services: For families with multiple needs.

The center was started in 1994 with a $50,000 grant from the Hawaiian Electric Industries, which has been a continuing contributor every year. For more information, call 671-4900.