Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 8, 1 August 2012 — Second chances [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Second chances

By Sarah Paeheeo At 13 years old, David Tavares was on his own and living on the beach, and college seemed like a world away. But this summer, Tavares and 75 other youth received their CompetencyBased high school diploma during a ceremony at McCoy Pavilion at Ala Moana Beach Park.

The Honolulu Community Aehon Program (HCAP) offers at-risk youth ages 16 to 21 a second ehanee at completing their high school education through its Youth Services Education Program, whieh teaches students real-world skills to become productive community members and increase their employability. In a speech to his fellow graduates, Tavares said he and his siblings were taken away from their mother at a very young age. He said he ended up in foster homes, before he was reunited with his mother, only

to be separated onee again when his mother retumed to her "old habits." "I started rebelling against everybody, getting into trouble, fighting and smoking weed," Tavares said. "My foster parents couldn't handle me and were going to send me back to the state, so I ran away and went to live with my dad until he got arrested for drug trafficking." That's when he found himself on his own. He was living on the beach

with his father's friends until a eoncerned cousin called the poliee. "I remember my cousin calling to tell me he was sorry." Tavares said. "He said that he didn't want to see me living on the beach because he knew that wasn't a life for me and he wanted more for me." As luek would have it, the next foster family with whom Tavares was placed turned out to be relatives who pushed him to finish school. Today, Tavares says he has "big SEE SEC0ND GHANGES ON PAGE 18

"I am a strong-willed mother who has so many things to look forward to," says Jerrika Agbayani. - Photos: Courtesy of HCAP

Life was a struggle for David Tavares, who never thought he'd graduate. Now, he says he has "big plans for his future."

SECOND CHANCES Continued from page 11

plans for my future." He's planning on attending Leeward Community college and tMnking of becoming an auto meehanie. "To be honest," he said, "it was hard growing up and I never thought this day would eome." Like Tavares, approximately 60 percent of the graduating class was of Native Hawaiian ancestry, said program coordinator Krystal Ikeda. She said the program provides free services to those who fall in lower socioeconomic categories, and that could account for the Mgh percentage of Native Hawaiians in the program "Many (former students) have gone on to college, vocational training and are now in the unions or entering the workforce," Ikeda said. "Their stories are all quite similar, but it is very rewarding to see them doing well." As a high school freshman, Jerrika Agbayani decided to explore her independence. She said she dropped out of school because of an unstable home environment. She found herself homeless and living

on the streets for six months. When she decided to go back to school, she found she was pregnant. "I didn't have a support system in plaee, and I felt totally lost not knowing who could help me or what to do," she said at the ceremony. After her daughter was born, Agbayani jumped from one plaee to another for a year until one day, she heard about HCAP froma friend who had graduated from the program. Agbayani received her program at the same ceremony as Tavares. She plans on enrolling at Kapi'olani Community College to complete her liberal arts requirements while she figures out her next move. "I am a strong-willed mother who has so many things to look forward to," Agbayani said. "I gained more than just knowledge (through HCAP); I gained an amazing family, hope and reassurance that there are people out there who are willing and who care about us. All we need to do is step up and do our part." ■ Sarah Paeheeo, an 0'ahu-based freelance writer, is a former assistant regional editorfor MidWeek.