Hale Ho‘omalu, a family support center in Kapa‘a, celebrated the completion of extensive renovation work with a blessing Wednesday. The home, owned by the Miura family, serves as an Eastside hub for participants in the Child & Family Service program
Hale Ho‘omalu, a family support center in Kapa‘a, celebrated the completion of extensive renovation work with a blessing Wednesday.
The home, owned by the Miura family, serves as an Eastside hub for participants in the Child & Family Service program and is a drug-, smoke-, and alcohol-free family center.
Its goals, under the directorship of Dory Farias, is to reduce family violence, child abuse and neglect, according to a program distributed at the blessing ceremony.
Hale Ho‘omalu, which translates to “a house that brings peace and calm,” also strives to increase family understanding and participation in family activities and support services, increase availability and accessibility of services, and increase community involvement in determining services to be offered.
A similar program exists on the Westside at Nana’s House, located in Waimea town behind the Obsessions Cafe.
Services offered by Hale Ho‘omalu are available to anyone who resides on the central and east Sides of Kaua‘i, including adults, teens, children and families.
The umbrella of services available include counseling, a food pantry and clothes closet program, parent information resource center, job information services, community outreach, volunteer training, service coordination, information and referral, parenting classes, enrichment classes and more. All services are free.
Hale Ho‘omalu, operating in Kapa‘a since 2002, keeps its doors open Mondays and Tuesdays from noon until 5 p.m., and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. It is closed on Fridays.
Food pantry hours are from 1 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and from noon to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays.
The home, located across from the Kapa‘a Shopping Center, was originally built in 1936 by Jay Jihei and Eleanor Miura with their six children, Yukiko, Mitsuyo, Kay, Bessie, Aileen and Tad. The family later added another son, Calvin, to its folds.
Jay was the eldest of the Miura ‘ohana, and this home became the gathering place for the Miura clan, a hub were family foundation, culture, and values were instilled, said Joy Miura Koerte of Fujita & Miura Public Relations.
Every special occasion was celebrated at this property, with Christmas and New Year’s being the most festive.
Eventually, all of Jay’s children grew up and moved into their own residences, leaving just Jay and Eleanor until Jay’s passing in 1973.
Eleanor moved to Honolulu to live with Calvin, but kept the house vacant so she could visit her Kaua‘i home and family whenever she pleased.
Following Eleanor’s passing in 1988, Calvin became the owner of the property and in 2002, rented the house to Child & Family Services.
Following many years of leasing the property, Child & Family Services decided to purchase it from Dr. Calvin Miura.
“There have been generations of Miuras that have lived, laughed, lost, and loved in this house,” Koerte said. “As the saying goes, ‘home is where the heart is,’ and our hearts will always remain with this home, and now, with Child & Family Services as they continue to do excellent work in our community by strengthening families and fostering healthy development of children.”
Child & Family Service is Hawai‘i’s oldest and most comprehensive human service non-profit. CFS has, for the past 112 years, been serving the needs of children and families in crisis through more than 30 programs on all islands. CFS serves keiki through kupuna through its core program areas including early childhood and children’s services, youth services, adult and family services and gerontology services which covers wellness programs, case management and caregiver services to help kupuna remain in the community, including a Kupuna Concierge program.
Hale Ho‘omalu is funded by the Hau‘oli Mau Loa, the Kaua‘i United Way, the G.N.Wilcox Hospital foundation and community contributions.
Visit www.childandfamilyservice.org or call 821-2520 for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
