PUHI — The Friends of Kaua‘i Community College recently toured the Hale Malama Care Center program on the Puhi campus to see the expanded offerings for Kaua‘i Community College students in need.
Supported by the Friends of Kaua‘i Community College, Hale Malama has partnered with community organizations like the Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i, the Aloha Diaper Bank, Hale ‘Opi‘o and with federal and Chan Zuckerberg Kaua‘i Community Funds to offer students a range of services that include individual therapy, feminine hygiene products, emergency aid, child care assistance, school supplies and food assistance.
Kaua‘i Community College Interim Chancellor Margaret Sanchez said the college has created a space for Hale Malama that is secure, welcoming, safe and nurturing for students. Through the Hale Malama Care Center, Kaua‘i Community College is able to provide a care-based support system free to students, also offering mental health, human needs and community resource assistance.
Since the start of the fall 2022 semester, Hale Malama Food and Goods Pantry has recorded 450 times that students utilized this service.
“Our Hale Malama team connects with our students through program services built on trust, reciprocity and a strengthened sense of belonging to overcome barriers that can hinder achieving their education goals,” Sanchez said.
It is common for local colleges to offer resources to students, such as academic counseling and financial aid, but not all colleges recognize the mental health and financial crisis affecting students across the nation, Kaua‘i Community College said in a press release.
“With generations of stigma surrounding mental health, especially pre-pandemic, mental health needs used to be seen as unimportant or irrelevant parts of students’ academic journey without realizing that it plays a huge and integral part in a student’s college experience and life in general,” Sanchez said.
Hale Malama works to address more than mental health that can impact a student’s ability to focus in class or even have the ability to attend college. These barriers include financial needs, access to food, child support and technology.
“When circumstances happened that were unexpected, all I can say is that if I didn’t get the emotional and financial support at the time, I would have dropped out,” said a student recipient of Hale Malama assistance.
Another student recipient added: “I received individual therapy services through Hale Malama, and my therapy sessions greatly improved my mental well-being,” the student said. “Thanks to my counselor and the therapy services provided by Hale Malama, I know how to manage my thoughts and emotions, and I am a much happier person because of them.”
Hale Malama was established in 2019 through a federal grant aimed at helping institutions of higher education become self-sufficient and expand capacity to serve low-inome students by providing funds to improve and strengthen academic quality, instututional management and fiscal stability. Hale Malama’s mission is to improve the health, safety, overall well-being and quality of life for all students at Kaua‘i Community College.
