WAILUKU — Nearly $3,000 raised from sales of police Domestic Violence Awareness patches last month will help the nonprofit Parents and Children Together do more for families, including some who may be in “dire” situations, its Maui director said.

“Not any one grant can cover all the expenses of running the program,” said Margot Sneed, Maui program director of PACT. “When you have money like this that’s not restricted, it really makes a big difference in helping people.

“It’s a lot easier to be able to help someone where they really need it. Sometimes clients are in such a dire situation that they can’t even stay in the shelters on Lanai or Maui. We might have to get them off island to Oahu or the Mainland.”

On Nov. 9, PACT became the latest organization to receive proceeds from sales of special Maui Police Department patches, which have also helped raise awareness for the nonprofits they commemorate, said Lt. Audra Sellers, commander of the police Community Relations Section.

“We have these partnerships,” she said. “You create these networks of people. A lot of people in the community want to give and they don’t know who to give to.”

Since launching its first pink patch for cancer awareness in October 2020, police have sold patches to benefit organizations including Imua Family Services and the Maui Humane Society. A “Support Our Veterans” patch for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3850 in Kihei sold out in four days after its release this month, Sellers said.

She said most of the patches have sold out, although police have limited quantities of some.

Each issue contains 500 patches that are sold for $10 each, with some of the money from sales funding the next patch and the rest going to the nonprofit.

“It’s a self-sustaining program,” Sellers said.

Police officers have been allowed to wear the patches as part of their uniform.

The department has mailed patches to Australia, Canada and Germany.

“There’s collectors all over the world that call us and say they want them and they support our program,” Sellers said. “Our patch project has gone far.”

The Domestic Violence Awareness Month patch includes the PACT logo incorporating an ohia lehua blossom. It symbolizes how the tree that is the first to grow after lava devastates the land will hold and support the keiki that grow after devastation, helping them move forward after trauma and becoming the strength supporting the family, Sneed said.

“This is exactly what we do, we support the whole family,” she said. “That ohia blossom is the strength that can come.”

Duke’s Maui bought 190 patches to give to each of its employees at its Kaanapali restaurant.

The patches acknowledge the work employees did for the company’s Generous Slice of Hula Pie fundraiser, with proceeds from one day’s sales of hula pies funding a donation to PACT for back-to-school supplies for children in September, said General Manager Nick Ware.

“They went out and pushed that hula pie extra hard that one day,” he said.

Before meeting with Sneed, “I didn’t realize the scope of the work they do,” Ware said.

“We were in a place looking for another community partner,” he said. “It seemed like a natural fit to explore our options with PACT.”

The organization runs domestic violence intervention programs for men and women at Maui Community Correctional Center so they can start or continue the programs while incarcerated.

The agency also has teen anger control groups to help youth develop coping skills.

Its family strengthening program works with parents and others involved with a child “so everybody’s helping the child in the same way,” Sneed said.

“It’s about education,” she said. “It’s about addressing trauma and helping the child and the family move forward in a healthy way.”

She said some families might need help with gas or food or cleaning supplies, which aren’t covered by grant funding.

“Having a relationship with the Maui Police Department is huge,” she said. “Everyone starts in patrol and domestic violence situations really are the most dangerous situations.

“We have to recognize that our police officers are there every day and night responding to these situations. It’s the community that really needs to step up and assist and support people that are in those situations. A lot of times we turn our head because we think it’s not our problem, we shouldn’t be niele. But, really, you can save somebody’s life by reporting.”

Ware said the response to the patches from Duke’s employees has been “really amazing.”

“As we have been passing these out, individuals are coming forward and sharing some of their own experiences with domestic violence, whether it’s a parent or loved one or spouse or an ex-spouse,” Ware said. “It seemed to be fairly cathartic for them. That’s been the most special part about it all.”

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.