Hale Na`au Pono

BRIEF HISTORY

We are a private non-profit corporation created by the people of the Wai`anae Coast to meet the needs of our community.  Hale Na`au Pono was incorporated on August 29, 1986, providing culturally- and socially-sensitive, community-based, behavioral health services for children and adults. We cover a wide range of mental health needs including substance abuse.

Our history and the design of our programs are rooted in the activist nature of this community.  In the mid-1970's the Wai`anae Community rallied together to take control of the State's Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) in Wai`anae.  The Community felt that mental health services should be grounded in local values and provided by the people familiar with Wai`anae's culture.  In 1978, the State heard the Community's pleas, and began to transition the CMHC to the Wai`anae Community.

We began a transition program with the State, first, by separating our community service from the Leeward District by designating Wai`anae as a separate "catchment" area. We were called a "demonstration model" and formed our own advisory board. This board set the path for spinning off completely from the State, forming a community owned and governed not-for-profit mental health center. We incorporated in the State of Hawai`i in 1987. By January 1995, we became the first mental health center in Hawai`i to receive national accreditation by CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) for mental health case management and out patient therapy. We received the maximum three-year accreditation. We were re-accredited in 1998 again for the maximum - three years.  We also became associated with the Hawai`i `Ohana Project - a Federal demonstration program to design a comprehensive system of care for families and youths with emphasis on a cultural basis for care.

In 1996, we moved out of very cramped quarters at the Satellite City Hall in Wai`anae into our current home - office. We began doing business as "Hale Na`au Pono," a Hawaiian name interpreted as "The Center for Inner Balance". From 1995 to 1998, we have more than doubled our staff and tripled our clients.

In 1999, Hale Na`au Pono was awarded the prestigious Managed Behavioral Healthcare Leadership Awardat the 1999 National Managed Health Care Congress. The award recognizes not only the leadership and quality of service in the field, but also, the organization’s unique and outstanding programs. Eli Lilly & Co., is the corporate underwriter for these annual awards. The National Managed Health Care Congress is the nation’s largest, most diverse educational forum and exhibition for all constituents in the managed health industry.

MISSION

Our mission is to

"Support Humane and Resilient Communities Through Behavioral Health, Advocacy, Education and Other Human Services Competent in Addressing the Diversity of Cultural and Social Patterns in Individuals, Families, and Communities and Incorporate Community Members of the Wai`anae Coast in Governance, Service Delivery and Evaluation."

GEOGRAPHIC AREA

Our geographic services area is the Wai`anae Coast, which is located on the Leeward side of O`ahu, and contains the communities of Nanakuli, Ma`ili, Wai`anae, Makaha, and Makua.

Of the estimated 50,000 people on the Coast, the majority are native Hawaiian. Other prominent ethnic groups include: Caucasian, Filipino, Samoan, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Puerto Rican, Vietnamese and others. One-half of Wai`anae's population is under 20 years old.