NNED - National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health

The Power of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Cultural Practices in Healing

May 29, 2024   |   3:00-4:30 pm EDT

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Office of Behavioral Health Equity invites you to join in celebrating the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month event, The Power of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Cultural Practices in Healing, on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, at 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm EDT. This webinar is presented in collaboration with the AANHPI ‘Ohana Center of Excellence (CoE), Hawaiʻi Department of Health, Papa Ola Lōkahi, Ho’aka Mana, Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, and California State University East Bay.

This webinar will focus on applying cultural frameworks to build trust and community engagement in behavioral health care services for AANHPI communities during times of crisis. Participants will gain literacy on key cultural concepts related to health, community identity, and wellness for AANHPIs. Presenters will share on-the-ground experiences from Lahaina, Maui, demonstrating the application of these principles in building behavioral health support during ongoing recovery efforts. Topics covered will include the community response to traumatic events and suicide, serving as a bridge to the community, culturally grounded responses, partnerships and influence, supporting what works in communities, financial support when possible, and the importance of listening to and observing community needs rather than imposing external solutions. 

During this webinar, participants will:

  • Learn about applying cultural frameworks central to building trust and community engagement in behavioral health care services and support during times of community crisis for AANHPIs.  
  • Gain literacy on key cultural concepts of health, community identity, and wellness for AANHPIs.
  • Hear on-the-ground experiences of building behavioral health support using these principles during the continuing recovery and healing in Lahaina, Maui.  
Register Now!

The event will also be shared on Facebook Live at fb.com/nned.net and closed captioning will be available through Zoom.

Looking to receive continuing education contact hours? Papa Ola Lōkahi (NASWHI-CEP-13) has been designated an approved provider of social work continuing education contact hours by the National Association of Social Workers Hawai’i Chapter. The Papa Ola Lokahi maintains responsibility for the program. This program is approved by the State of Hawaii Department of Health’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (Approval# ADAD-24-089) for up to 1.5 contact hour(s). NOTE: Participants are responsible for submitting proof of attendance to their respective certification or licensing board. ʻOhana CoE & Papa Ola Lōkahi do not submit this information on behalf of training participants. Participants will receive a link to verify attendance at the end of the workshop.

Opening Remarks

Dr. Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon

Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Dr. Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon is currently Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. She previously served as Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) and served in this role for six years. Prior positions held at DMHAS include Deputy Commissioner, Senior Policy Advisor and Director of the department’s Office of Multicultural Healthcare Equity. In her role as Commissioner, Dr. Delphin-Rittmon was committed to promoting recovery oriented, integrated, and culturally responsive services and systems that foster dignity, respect, and meaningful community inclusion.

Moderator

Dr. Kathleen Wong(Lau)

Project Facilitator
‘Ohana CoE, University Diversity Officer at California State University East Bay

Dr. Kathleen Wong(Lau) is the University Diversity Officer at California State University East Bay, where she leads the Office of Diversity providing vision, strategic direction, and support for university-wide efforts to ensure a welcoming environment and systemic equity for members of campus and in its relationship with the surrounding communities. Prior to her current appointment she served in a similar role as Chief Diversity Officer at San Jose State University for six and a half years. She is a bilingual second-generation Chinese American descending from working-class immigrants from Hong Kong who migrated to California in the 1950s under Asian Exclusion.

Speakers

John Oliver

Project Director, ‘Ohana CoE
Public Health Program Manager, Maui County Branch Chief, Hawai‘i State Department of Health | Ka ‘Oihana Olakino

John Oliver is with the Hawai‘i Department Of Health’s Behavioral Health Administration. Working within Adult Mental Health Division, he is a Public Health Program Manager / Service Area Administrator and oversees Maui County Community Mental Health Center’s locations on Maui, Molokai, and Lana‘i. He is also the Project Director for the Maui County Certified Community Behavior Health Clinic (CCBHC), a project funded by a planning, development, and implementation grant from SAMHSA. In addition, he is also the Project Director for the newly formed AANHPI ‘Ohana Center of Excellence.

Kamaile Luke

Wellness Navigator Coordinator
Hawai‘i State Department of Health | Ka ‘Oihana Olakino

Kamaile Luke serves as the Wellness Navigator Coordinator in Lāhainā for the Department of Health’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. Born and raised on Maui, she is passionate and rooted in her kuleana to her lāhui. For thirteen years, her kuleana has been in working with victims and survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, sex trafficking, child abuse, and counseling survivors of homicide. For ten years, she took her passion for advocacy to Oregon where she was a member of the Oregon Attorney General’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, Mass Casualty Response committee, and the Psychiatric Security Review Board’s Administrative committee and Legislative Work Group. The work she has done in Oregon extended to working with Kānaka Maoli, Indigenous Peoples, Polynesians, and Asian, Peoples of the Pacific Islands.  

Lilinoe Kauahikaua, MSW

Project Manager, ‘Ohana CoE,
Program Coordinator, Papa Ola Lōkahi

Lilinoe Kauahikaua, MSW is from Piʻihonua, Hilo on Moku o Keawe (Hawaiʻi Island) but has lived and grown in many other spaces throughout her journey, including Oʻahu, California, and Arizona. She serves as a program coordinator with Papa Ola Lōkahi, for all substance use and mental health projects, as well as the AANHPI ʻOhana Center of Excellence focusing on behavioral/mental health and substance use. Her research focuses include data disaggregation, and Indigenous approaches to: behavioral/mental health, reentry services, incarceration, and substance misuse. Lilinoe was appointed by Governor Ige to the Hawai‘i Advisory Commission on Drug Abuse and Controlled Substances and serves on the boards of ʻEkolu Mea Nui, Going Home Hawaiʻi, and Kinohi Mana Nui, and as the cultural committee co-chair for The Going Home Hawaiʻi Consortium, organizations serving the Native Hawaiian community impacted by incarceration and substance misuse. Lilinoe also serves on committees for the Institute of Violence and Trauma (IVAT), and Hawaiʻi Substance Use Professional Development initiative. Lilinoe received the kāhea to return home and serve her lāhui over 10 years ago and is committed to pursuing social justice for the Native Hawaiian Community.

Kumu Kanoelani Davis

Executive Director
Ho‘akā Mana, Kumu Hula, Kahu Pono in Native Hawaiian Healing Arts – Hō‘ā Mana

Kumu Kanoelani Davis is a Kama a Molokainuia Hina and an established Kumu Hula of Ka Pa Hula O Hina I Ka Po La’il’ai and Ho’a Mana Practitioner in the healing arts. She draws from the immense knowledge and wisdom passed down to her by her Papa, Sifu/Kahupono/’Olohe Francis Clifford Leialoha Wong. Kanoelani is the Executive Director of Ho’aka Mana – Native Hawaiian Organization that believes in strengthening indigenous identities. Davis is deeply invested in the community, advocating for cultural preservation, conservation, and the protection of natural resources. She has worked as a Cultural Health Navigator with Molokai Community Health Center, coordinating programs and integration between the behavioral health, medical, and dental departments. Kanoelani has also served on the Executive Board of Directors and is now a part of the Cultural Committee at Molokai Community Health Center. Kanoelani has dedicated her time and efforts to serving the Molokai community and its youth.

Niki Wright, PsyD, CSAC, ICADC

Director, Ho‘okuola Hale and Malama Recovery Services
Staff Psychologist/Faculty, Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center

Niki Wright, PsyD, CSAC is the director of the substance abuse treatment program and integrated chronic pain management departments at Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center. As a licensed clinical psychologist and certified substance abuse counselor in the State of Hawai‘i, she has dedicated her professional career to breaking the negative social stigma of mental illness, including addiction, and finding creative ways to increase access to care in medically underserved communities. Her primary professional interests include health psychology and working with diverse and marginalized populations. Dr. Wright is also the Chief Behavioral Health Officer at Wahiawā Center for Community Health, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at IMUA Heart, and clinical psychologist for the State of Hawai‘i’s Department of Education in the school-based behavioral health program in the Honolulu District.

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