The Buddy System
Adult Friends for Youth has succeeded in creating connections among Hawai’i’s youth and community leaders. Often, mentorships can transform into lifetime friendships (photos courtesy Adult Friends for Youth).
From the outside, growing up in Hawai‘i may seem like a paradise: plague-free of some of the violence and problems youth may experience in big cities on the mainland. Beneath the year-round warm weather, beautiful beaches and palm trees lies an underground world of systemic gang activity, violence and poverty that plagues a large portion of our current youth population. In fact, our Islands’ sunny climate makes it unfortunately easy to overlook underserved communities spread throughout O‘ahu, from Wai‘anae to Kaimuki and everywhere in between: This is where Adult Friends for Youth (AFY) steps in.
A kama‘aina-led nonprofit organization aiming to address these issues, Adult Friends for Youth works to redirect the lives of our most vulnerable youth by strengthening family and community bonds, enabling them to reach their full potential. AFY offers several programs to build a stronger youth community in our Islands, including its Redirectional Therapy (RT) Counseling Program. This program involves group and individual counseling both on school campuses during school hours, and off-campus after school. The program helps Hawai‘i youth build positive coping skills, which are especially critical during COVID-19.
“Counseling sessions allow youth to reflect on past behaviors, assess consequences to their actions, regulate their emotions and establish positive relation- ships with their community and those around them,” shares Lisa Tamashiro, Director of Operations and Special Pro- grams. “Once their behavior is addressed, education is utilized to build a pathway to future success.”
Other education-driven programs include the Mobile Education Center (MEC) and Mobile Assessment Center (MAC). MEC targets chronically absent youth or those at high risk of academic pitfall by reconnecting them to education via alternative programs to help them achieve their future goals. In partnership with the Honolulu Police Department, MAC targets O‘ahu Leeward Coast youth to keep them out of juvenile court or other delinquent-driven behavior and to cope with any past trauma.
And one cannot overlook AFY’s main stage event: the PEARL Convention (Pro- moting Peace, Empathy, Acceptance, Respect, and Love). This anti-bullying, anti-violence campaign is especially important in our modern, digital world. Held on O‘ahu and Kaua‘i, the event raises awareness about bullying that can take place on school campuses and communities, teaching youth how to resolve these issues by alternative means.
“At the end of the day, the goal of AFY is to break the unforgiving cycle of violence that a large portion of the local youth experience every day. Collectively, AFY services allow these individuals to be supported while having a chance at creating a better future for themselves and becoming ambassadors of peace.” Tamashiro says. “Many of the youth who have come through the program have gone on to become productive members of society. With every success story, we take one step closer to living in the peaceful paradise that Hawai‘i is perceived to be.”
“AFY always had time for us. They taught us what we know now. They taught us how to be an adult. Without them I wouldn’t be here. Some of us would have ended up dead ... AFY was like another parent we never had. They were people who were there for us ... I learned to think before acting, especially fights. After working with AFY, I could start talking to my family.”
Testimonials from Hawai‘i’s youth speak for themselves. One such testimonial comes from Campbell High School student Kekoa, who was violent on campus and neglected his responsibilities. Thanks to AFY, he’s turned over a new leaf, hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the army after graduation. Kekoa’s teacher shared with AFY’s President, Deborah Spencer-Chun, regarding the support staff provided to him: “I wish every student had such a dedicated group of adults to support them during these difficult times.”
afyhawaii.com
