Information on Waianae YMCA Q&A

 

Office of Senator Shimabukuro

A constituent of Senator Shimabukuro’s district raised a question that has been on the minds of many residents on the Waianae Coast as well as our office.

Do you know if there are any further plans by the YMCA for the land  they bought near the waste water treatment plant?  Would you be able to provide us with any information of the development plans for the land purchase near the waste water treatment plant?

Thank you for your time.

YMCA : Executive Vice President & COO Michael Doss 

We continue to use this location to provide youth outreach programs to the Waianae community. I can provide more info on the types of programs we are providing if you are interested.

Regarding the development of the property, we recently completed a capital campaign feasibility study through which we received a lot of feedback about our Waianae location and how we might use it to serve the community. Based on this feedback, we plan to set a course of action within the next 12 months.

Sincerely,

Michael Doss Executive Vice President & COO

YMCA of Honolulu Metropolitan Office

Office of Senator Shimabukuro:

Could you provide me with information specifically on the programs offered at the YMCA Waianae location? What are your further plans for programs to be offered at the YMCA Waianae location?

 

YMCA: Executive Director of Honolulu YMCA Kyle Ishizaka

My name is Kyle Ishizaka, Executive Director of the YMCA Of Honolulu – Kalihi Branch.

The Kalihi Branch has oversight of the programs provided to teens in Waianae.

Currently we have a contract with the Department of Health, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD) to provide School Based Substance Abuse Treatment at Nanakuli Inter and High School and at Waianae Inter and High School.

We bring students to the Waianae facility from these schools during the after school hours and school breaks to provide treatment groups and activities.

We also provide a teen drop in center after school at the Waianae site.  Our drop in program provides structured activities to all youth on the Waianae Coast.

We also provide After care for teens discharged from Substance abuse programs at the site.

This is a twelve session program and assists youth to build a support network and create a relapse prevention plan.

It is also designed to assist youth to re-engage in the community where their alcohol or drug use originated in.

Both the Drop in program and After Care program are funded by a City and County Grant In Aid (GIA)

I hope this helps to answer the questions you and Senator Shimabukuro may have.

Thank you,

Kyle Ishizaka

Executive Director

YMCA of Honolulu-Kalihi Branch