HCAP Weekly August 4, 2014

In this week’s issue:

HCAP NEWSFLASH: All HCAP Offices, Program Sites, and Services Closed on Friday, August 8, 2014
The Kupuna Independent Life Series is Back in Action
HCAP Staff Introduces Na Lima Hana Employment Core Services Program to Vancouver House and Ke Ola Mamo
Senior Finds Success Through HCAPʻs Senior Community Service Employment Program

HCAP NEWSFLASH: All HCAP Offices, Program Sites, and Services Closed on Friday, August 8, 2014

All HCAP offices, program sites, and services were closed on Friday, August 8, due to anticipated severe weather conditions and possible flooding caused by Hurricane Iselle and Julio. Prior to the announcement, all HCAP Head Start classrooms, all HCAP STEM Exploration Centers, and the HCAP Youth Services Program were closed in order to ensure the safety of all students participating in HCAP education programs.

All HCAP employees were advised not report to work and to continue to check for updates on our status at HCAP’s Hotline at (808) 447-5404 as well as HCAP’s Facebook and Twitter accounts @HCAPhi.

With the onset of Iselle, tropical storm force winds were forecasted on Oahu at 6:00 a.m. on Friday. As it passes south, the closest approach of Iselle to Honolulu was forecasted to be at 9:00 a.m. on Friday. Julio is a category 3 hurricane, but is expected to weaken in the next 48 hours. The current forecast track takes Julio north of Hawaii Island as a tropical storm late Saturday into Sunday.

The Kupuna Independent Life Series is Back in Action

The Kupuna Independent Life Series is back at the Leeward District Service Center starting on September 11, 2014. The thirteen week series is called: The Power of Pono – Balancing Body, Mind and Spirit; concentrating on important health and social issues that promote senior well-being. Highlights include cooking vegetarian at Down To Earth (Kapolei), meditating with the Kailua Shambala Meditation Center and engaging in a holistic celebration at the St. Francis retreat center at Our Lady of Kea’au in Makaha.

New for seniors in this series is the opening of the HCAP Free Health Center and one-on-one educational classes on chronic disease, such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma. The weekly schedule is:

• 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m./HCAP Free Health Center open
• 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. /health workshop
• 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. / lunch
• 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. /support group
• 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. /one-on-one chronic disease counseling

Call the Leeward District Service Center at (808) 696-4261 for more information. This project, in collaboration with Hawaii Pacific University’s School of Nursing and Health Sciences, is intended for individuals 55 and above.

HCAP Staff Introduces Na Lima Hana Employment Core Services Program to Vancouver House and Ke Ola Mamo

Na Lima Hana Employment Core Services Program Manager James “Jojo” Upega, Leahi District Service Center Community Services Manager Keith Nakano, and Community Worker Eric Kelekolio met with Vancouver House General Manager Shannelle Lum to introduce Na Lima Hana and also all of HCAPʻs other programs and services. Vancouver House contains 33 one and two-bedroom apartments for families. Applicants must be referred by an outreach agency or emergency shelter and work at least 19 hours a week. Program fees vary, based on income. Located in Mānoa, it is walking distance to U.H., as well as stores and services. Shanelle will be referring her tenants to the Leahi District Service Center for services.

Jojo also accompanied the Kalihi-Palama District Service Center Community Services Manager Ace Tufu to Ke Ola Mamo’s monthly staff meeting to introduce Na Lima Hana and HCAP programs and services. Ke Ola Mamo is one of the five Native Hawaiian Health Care System created under the native Hawaiian Health Care Act of and reauthorized under the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act of 1992. Ke Ola Mamo has been providing services to the Native Hawaiian Community on O’ahu for over ten years. Ke Ola Mamo is committed to improving the life and health of our people through a system of culturally sensitive services, intervention, advocacy, outreach, education and early detection screenings.

We would like to thank Vancouver House and Ke Ola Mamo for allowing us to introduce HCAP’s programs and services. We look forward to working together for the mutual benefit of the people we serve, and to building a strong and lasting collaboration.

Senior Finds Success Through HCAPʻs Senior Community Service Employment Program

Dita and her husband lived in Chuuk, Micronesia. After working for thirty-one years as a Head Start teacher, both Dita and her husband traveled to Hawaii because her husband needed surgery. The surgery was successful and they decided to stay in Hawaii where there are more opportunities for employment.

Dita entered the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) under the SCSEP American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Special Funds project. This temporary project allowed SCSEP to extend its employment training services to additional participants for a limited two-year term. As the ARRA project expired, Dita along with other ARRA participants were transferred into the regular SCSEP program.

During the SCSEP assessment, Dita expressed that she enjoyed working with children. Her assignments were teacher’s aide positions at elementary schools near her home. However, in addition to working with children, she and her husband were also caretakers for her husband’s brother, which gave her experience in the adult caregiving field.

Throughout her enrollment in SCSEP, she and all the program participants are encouraged to continue looking for regular employment that is similar or related to the assigned SCSEP training assignment. In June 2014, Dita came into the office and reported that she had gotten a job a Kupuna Care as a part-time caregiver starting June 30, 2014. Having obtained unsubsidized employment, Dita exited the SCSEP program with a positive outcome.