KANAIO, Hawaii (AP) — Fear. Anxiety. Anger. Depression. Overwhelmed.
Janice Dapitan began her second counseling session by writing those words on a whiteboard, reflecting what she felt in that moment. The day fire destroyed her hometown of Lahaina — and the struggles that have followed for nearly a year — still haunted her.
“The connection with the horses is different than connecting with machines or humans,” said Dapitan. “It’s almost like instant healing.” “He just lets you lean on him,” she said. “I can feel myself healing because somebody is at least letting me lean on them.” The program, now supported by grants from the Hawaii Community Foundation, Maui United Way, and other private donors, has provided more than 1,300 sessions for impacted residents.
Providers, nonprofits, philanthropic groups and the government collaborated to reduce barriers to mental health treatment, like paying for people’s therapy sessions and staffing shelters and FEMA events with mental health practitioners. Impacted families also maintain taro patches, restore native plants and take cultural classes on protected land stewarded by the organization Ka’ehu. Aviva Libitsky and her son Nakana, 7, volunteer there at least once a week, scooping invasive snails out of kalo pools and cleaning litter from the shoreline.
Mental Wellness Maui Hawaii Lahaina Fire Healing Dapitan
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