Photos: Lahaina Arts Guild The Lahaina Arts Guild will receive a $24,000 grant from the Maui Strong Fund to support arts and music education, summer camps and community events in Lahaina schools after The Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s recently announced more than $2 million in grants. Courtesy photo/Lahaina Arts Guild

The Hawai’i Community Foundation has awarded more than $2 million to 24 nonprofits that provide mental health support to individuals and families affected by the Maui wildfires.

According to the foundation, it is working in line with the state Office of Wellness and Resilience and Department of Health and the Maui County-led Health and Social Services Recovery Support Function team to ensure nonprofits can offer mental health and resilience resources for fire-affected families and individuals.

Funding priorities are focused on nonprofits providing culturally relevant community resources and practitioners that address gaps in service and reduce barriers to access.

“We recognize the efforts of the nonprofit organizations that have played an integral role in steadying the mental health and resiliency of Maui’s communities,” said Keanu Lau Hee, the senior director for the foundation’s Maui Recovery Effort, in a statement. “Around this time last year, many were dealing with tremendous uncertainty, unsure of what a holiday season would look like for their families. With the crucial support services these grantee organizations are committed to providing, we are hopeful for a brighter new year to come.”

According to the Hawai’i Community Foundation, the organization has a four-phase approach to disaster response to address immediate and long-term recovery needs for the people and places affected by disaster events.

In response to the wildfires, the Maui Strong Fund is currently in phase three — the recovery and stabilization phase — and funds are being granted for interventions and programs designed to strengthen the health of Maui’s communities.

“The quick availability of these funds at this time allows us to continue with mental health support and treatment and not have to slow our outreach work,” said Nicole Hokoana, CEO of Mālama Nā Mākua A Keiki, also known as the Mālama Family Recovery Center.

“We’re also planning to continue special activities in-community through the holidays,” Hokoana continued. “This is the first year families are back in their homes, or settling in to new homes, after the fires, and it’s a critical time to provide support and also bring some joy and celebration to their lives,”

Grants were awarded to:

• Aloft will receive $99,720 for the Maui Hero Project, which supports 300 youth across six schools and 40 partners with trauma healing, disaster preparedness and camp activities.

• Boys & Girls Club of Maui will receive $100,000 for a program that aims to reduce depression, anxiety and other mental health issues among 1,000 Maui youth through art, recreation, skill-building, career guidance and leadership activities.

• Child and Family Service will receive $51,000 to host the Lōkahi Resource Fair, offering mental health, cultural resources and food for 250 youth and adults in a safe, family-friendly setting.

• Family Hui Hawaiʻi will receive $100,000 for the From Hope to Strength: A Path Forward project, which will offer trauma-informed workshops and activities including arts therapies and parental support.

• Friends of Hawaiʻi Technology Academy will receive $40,000 to support students displaced by the Lahaina fire through mental health counseling and artistic programming, in partnership with local professionals, at their new Kapalua campus.

• Hale Kipa will receive $100,000 to provide trauma-informed, culturally grounded mental health services, including therapy and therapeutic farming, to support youth and families impacted by the fires across the island.

• Hāna Arts will receive $39,000 to work in partnership with Fuzz Box Productions to host Family Movie Night events in West Maui hotels.

• Hawai’i Behavioral Health Connection will receive $100,000 to support 75 fire-impacted households with referral coordination to mental health services and host quarterly outreach events to build new community partnerships.

• Hawai’i Psychological Association will receive $100,000 to work in partnership with the Hawai’i Behavioral Health Connection to offer evidence-based and cultural behavioral health services as well as monthly workshops and quarterly trainings to support Maui’s providers working with affected individuals and households.

• Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaiʻi will receive $97,650 to provide mental health support, including counseling, therapy and peer support groups, for pregnant and postpartum women in Maui affected by the fires, in collaboration with local partners.

• Island Mind Therapy LLC will receive $100,000 to provide evidence-based treatment and cultural healing through individual and group therapy services in Central Maui, offering eight six-week cohorts to support Maui wildfire recovery efforts.

• Kaibigan Ng Lahaina will receive $100,000 to launch its Lahaina Filipino Mental Health Initiative to provide accessible, culturally relevant mental health services to the Filipino and immigrant communities.

• Ke Kula ʻO Pi’ilani will receive $100,000 to support culturally grounded programs and practitioners aiding the recovery and healing of fire-affected families through Hawaiian language and cultural immersion education.

• Lahaina Arts Guild will receive $24,000 to support arts and music education, summer camps, and community events in Lahaina schools, fostering healing and empowerment through creative expression.

• Lines for Life will receive $100,000 to establish a locally staffed YouthLine call center on Maui, offering peer-to-peer mental health support and resilience resources for youth impacted by the fires.

• Mālama Nā Mākua A Keiki, Mālama Family Recovery Center will receive $99,500 to provide mental health referrals, counseling, and ongoing trauma support for 250 households in West and Central Maui.

• Mana Maoli will receive $100,000 to continue its Mana Mele Maui project to bring music professionals to West Maui schools, boosting morale and fostering healing for 2,600 Lahaina youth and 300 residents while supporting school curriculum.

• Maui Access to Mindful Movement will receive $82,750 for Maui to host 40-50 events over the next year, offering mindful movement classes like yoga, dance and martial arts to enhance physical, mental and social well-being for students and families.

• Maui Preparatory Academy will receive $100,000 to continue its partnership with a licensed clinical therapist, offering individual and group counseling, trauma-informed staff development and support for students, families and faculty impacted by the fires.

• Native Hawaiian Philanthropy will receive $100,000 to coordinate 12 community events between November and June, providing resources like meals, gift cards and mental health support to wildfire survivors while offering cultural activities and traditional healing practices.

• Pacific Birth Collective Incorporated will receive $100,000 to offer urgent mental health support services, case management and professional development for vulnerable populations and practitioners.

• Piha Wellness and Healing will receive $100,000 to provide ongoing mental health services, including individual and family therapy, case management and peer support, to 100 fire-affected clients, with a focus on long-term care and community referrals.

• Project Koa Yoga/Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaiʻi will receive $50,000 to offer wellness programs such as Ohana Yoga, prenatal and postpartum cycles, after-school programs, and teacher training, to address the mental and physical health needs of underserved communities on Maui.

• Wisdom Circles Oceania will receive $99,550 to launch a yearlong Community Care Worker Resilience Circle to provide support and build wellness, leadership and resilience among Maui-based nonprofit teams working with vulnerable populations.

As of Nov. 22, the Hawai’i Community Foundation reports to have awarded $128 million from its Maui Strong Fund to more than 200 organizations. The grants were made possible by donations to the Maui Strong Fund. For more about how to access resources from these programs, go to strongerhawaii.org/.

To donate to the Maui Strong Fund, go to hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong. For questions or additional information about giving, call (808) 566-5560 or email donorservices@hcf-hawaii.org.