Ike Loa Project: to seek knowledge and wisdom to foster growth

Child & Family Service (CFS) has been dedicated to its mission of “Strengthening families and fostering the healthy development of children” in Hawaii since 1899 and on Kauai since 1982.  CFS’ experience makes us the community leader in unifying current resources and developing new violence prevention services for youth, families, and the community.  CFS will enhance programming to prevent youth violence with a priority with Kauai youth ages 11-17.  This violence prevention program is called the ‘Ike Loa Project,’ translated to mean “a value in learning knowledge, growth, and expansion” in Hawaiian.  This captures the program enhancements that have been lacking in youth programs on Kauai, inspiring growth by providing training to service providers working with youth and providing classes to youth to initiate a culture of “Aloha” (love for self and others) and “Kuleana” (responsibility for all that we do). Following evidenced-based strategies in effective violence prevention programs, CFS proposes to provide the following:

Training opportunities for our community partners that work with youth such as schools, law enforcement, and youth programs. Training includes identifying behaviors and circumstances that put youth at greater risk for violence, increasing the protective factors of the youth, understanding the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences ACE(s), and learning trauma-informed strategies with youth. Through this training, community partners will confidently identify vulnerable youth and provide the appropriate support.  
Learning opportunities for youth through age-appropriate violence prevention classes. Utilizing trauma-informed care processes, staff will provide fun and interactive lessons. Hence, youth can learn about themselves to build a stronger sense of self-worth, identify strategies to build healthy relationships, learn coping skills and safe ways to express emotions, and create safety plans as necessary.

These services allow staff and community partners to identify youth at risk for violence. Once identified, staff will be able to collaborate with parents and service providers to work towards getting youth support services and treatment. Thus, preventing violence with our youth. The expected outcomes for the Ike Loa Project include:

85% of youth will report increased knowledge and skill in violence prevention strategies
80% of youth will develop a violence prevention plan
90% of youth identified at risk will be provided information and referral for services
90% of community partners will report increased knowledge and skill in violence prevention interventions with youth