Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 8, 1 August 2012 — Hilo community airs concerns at justice task force meeting [ARTICLE]

Hilo community airs concerns at justice task force meeting

By Karin Stanton Ameeting in Hilo addressing the disproportionate numbers of Hawaiians in the state criminal justice system attracted testimony from more than two dozen people urging, among other things, the return of the state's 650 Hawaiians imprisoned on the continent, better services for prisoners upon release and programs to reconnect Hawaiians with their culture. Donnalyn Kalei, an assistant professor of justice at Hawai'i Community College in Hilo, said the most important factor in keeping Native Hawaiians out of the system in the first plaee is to restore ownership in language, culture and traditions after centuries of distress. "It has been projected through the generations. Some of us have been resilient; most of us haven't," Kalei said at the July 14 meeting held as part of a statewide effort to gather input. "We need more informal programs that foster an identity, a sense of plaee, and also foster a sense of responsibility to themselves, families and community." Kalei pointed to her work with the Kamoleao Laulima Community Resource Center Project, whieh helps reconnect Native Hawaiians with their culture and traditions. One recent project resulted in 3 acres of land being cleared and replanted with native plants and crops. Work crews included native youth and incarcerated Native Hawaiians. Kalei said Kamoleao Laulima has met with success. "It doesn't sound like mueh, but we have six guys who are out of jail and enrolled in college now," she said. "It's a start." Several others testified that inmates need tremendous support and assistance onee they're released to reclaim their lives and move on

to contribute to their communities. For example, prisoners often have a difficult time finding housing and a job, whieh are required parole and probation conditions. Many also need substance-abuse counseling, parenting and family counseling, and life-skills classes. Community groups such as HOPE Services, Goodwill Job Connections Program, Going Home Consortium and Second Chance Mentoring offer that support. Several others urged the task force to bring home the state's approximately 650 Native Hawaiians incarcerated in prisons on the continent. Separating them from their families and their culture amounts to additional punishment, said Sam Kaleleiki, who through 'Ohana Ho'opakele has been bringing Hawaiian culture to inmates on the continent. Task force member and Office of Hawaiian Affairs CEO Kamana'opono Crabbe said the hnal report will include a recommendation to bring those inmates back to Hawai'i. "That certainly will be one of the recommendations," he said. "We need to develop a timeframe and plan here in Hawai'i so that we ean accommodate them." Crabbe also said he was pleased to hear of so many grassroots programs already finding success across the island. "I was very encouraged because several are preventive programs. Already within the correction system, they are being trained in life skills, some education and classes, support and counseling and that's necessary," he said. "Others are mueh more crisis-oriented. What we need to see is muhiple levels in many communities and a continuum of services as they transition back into communities. (The meeting in Hilo) was very enlightening, because there is strong support and a loud voice fromNative Hawaiians

for cultural-based and communitydriven programs." By Aug. 3, the Native Hawaiian Justice Task Force will have completed five meetings on O'ahu, Hawai'i Island, Maui and Kaua'i as it addresses OHA's 2010 report titled Tlie Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians in the Criminaī Justice System. The report found Native Hawaiians make up the highest percentage of people incarcerated in out-of-state facilities. Specifically, in 2008, Native Hawaiians made up 24 percent of the state's general populahon but 39 percent of those incarcerated. The report also found Native Hawaiians are more likely to receive prison sentences, longer terms of incarceration and probation, and higher rates of parole revocation. With a mission to deliver a report to the state Legislature before the 2013 session, the task force eonducted two meetings on Hawai'i Island, including July 14 in Hilo. Following that meeting, task force Chairman Miehael Broderick said the testimony reinforced what he learned as a former Family Court judge. "There is a direct connection between historical trauma and the over-representation of Hawaiians in the justice system," he said. "Behind acts of violence or substance abuse, there is some kind of trauma, whether it is cultural, historical or personal." Understanding the history is the first step toward righting wrongs, he said. "There is no one solution," he said. "It will have to be a multipronged approach." ■ Karin Stanton, aformerreporter/ editor at West Hawai'i Today, worksfor the Associated Press and Hawai'i 24/7.