Harm Reduction Hawai‘i

“Doing More with Less”

Harm Reduction Approaches to Tough Social Problems

Honolulu, Hawai`i

Monday, October 22, 2012

Ala Moana Hotel

Tackling Tough Social Issues with Shrinking Budgets

Providing services and solving social problems with shrinking budgets was the focus of this conference.  It featured local service providers discussing ways of developing programs to solve a host of interrelated social problems using harm reduction philosophies

Laurie Temple, Legislative Program Director, Hawaii Chapter of the ACLU delivered a keynote entitled Truth to Power: A Case Study in Effective Legislative Activism for Social Change. Dr. Valli Kalei Kanuha, Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at UH Manoa delivered a keynote entitled Home Grown Harm Reduction Approaches. 

Breakout Sessions included

10:15 

1. “Harm Reduction 201: Beyond the Basics”  This session covered the main concepts of harm reduction, help policy makers find ways to incorporate harm reduction into direct services and agency culture, and help attendees gain valuable tools and techniques.
2. “Sex Work and Trafficking: A Harm Reduction Approach”.  Featuring Susan Dewey from the University of Wyoming this session reviewed problems in the mixing of trafficking with sex work, comparing the efforts of harm reductionists with moral absolutist approaches, and the problems caused to foreign non-profits by US Anti-Trafficking efforts.
3. “How to Speak Harm Reduction: Cultural Competency for Pacific Islanders”.  This session covered issues and trends in the Samoan and other Pacific Islander communities.

At 1:00 PM 

1. “Decreasing Violence, Bulling and Suicide to Create a Mentally Healthy Community in Hawaii”.  This session provided data and statistics on the risks of violence and bulling and their correlation to suicide.  
2. “Addressing Substance Abuse & Substance Intoxication within Hawaii’s Emergency and Transitional Homeless Shelters”.  The session discussed wet and damp shelters, strategies shelters are adopting to address intoxication, and how essential harm reduction techniques are in these environments.
3. “Working With Active Users”.  This session addressed techniques for dealing with active drug users, including prevention of overdose and other hazards. 
4. “Cultural Competency When Supporting Transgenders”.  This was an overview of Asian and Pacific Islander transgender culture with a discussion of best practices.

At 2:30 PM 

1. “The Kapuna Community and Harm Reduction”. This session focused on local agencies that work with the elderly and how the community can help agencies define and use harm reduction in their programs.
2. “Express Yourself, Protect Yourself: Harm Reduction and Body Art”. This session discussed potential harms involved in tattooing, and body piercing and how to avoid them.   
3. “Understanding and Working With Hawaii’s Youth”.  This session dealt with at risk youth and how to understand their issues and how to better address them.

SPEAKERS AND PANALIST BIOGRAPHIC AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Robert Bidwell, MD (Decreasing Violence, Bullying, and Suicide) was an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Adolescent Medicine at the University of Hawai`i John A. Burns School of Medicine.  

Barbara Brouillet (Cultural Competency with Transgender) was a Public Health Nurse who has worked for the State of Hawaii Department of Health since 1988.

Alexis Charpentier (Cultural Competency with Transgender) graduated in the spring of 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in Music and Biochemistry

Susan Dewey, PHD, (Sex Work and Trafficking) is an assistant professor at the University of Wyoming Gender and Women’s Studies Department as well as adjunct in International Studies.   Jason Espero (Substance Abuse & Intoxication in Homeless Shelters) Jason is currently the Shelter Manager at the Next Step Project and has been employed with Waikiki Health Center for the past 3 years.  Jason also serves as a member of the board of directors for the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.     

Jane Hanson, MSW, LSW (Working With Active Users), Jane is the Hepatitis Care Coordinator for Hep Free Hawaii, developing and implementing a patient navigation system for chronic hepatitis and liver disease. 

Ashliana Hawelu (Cultural Competency with Transgender) is the Executive Director for Kulia Na Mamo, a 501c3 non-profit organization established to serve Hawaii’s most disadvantaged transgender community including other disadvantaged people of color. 

Darlene Hein, MPH, (Harm Reduction and Kapuna) has served as Chief of Community Services for Waikiki Health Center since 2004

Pua Kaninau-Santos, MSW, (Decreasing Violence, Bullying, and Suicide) is a recipient of the Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN) USA Sandy Martin Grassroots Award and a National Winner of the “Influencing State Policy” award. Pua is presently working at Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center in Honolulu, providing services to Native Hawaiian orphan and destitute children and their families. .

Valli Kalei Kanuha, PhD, (Opening Plenary Speaker) is Associate Professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Department of Sociology. Dr. Kanuha has worked as an activist, clinician, administrator, and consultant with community health programs, domestic and sexual violence agencies, women’s and HIV/AIDS organizations in the continental U.S. and Hawai‘i for over 35 years. New York and Hawai‘i, including the Violence Intervention Project in East Harlem, 

Nancy Kern (Decreasing Violence, Bullying, and Suicide) worked for the Hawaii Department of Health for 20 years in HIV & AIDS prevention.  In January 2010, Nancy was appointed the Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the Injury Prevention and Control Section, Hawaii Department of Health. 

Stacy Lenze (At Risk Youth & Working With Active Users) is the Research and HIV Linkage Coordinator at the CHOW Project, Hawaii’s statewide harm reduction program. Stacy has over three years’ experience in working with people living with HIV, active drug users and the homeless community.  Stacy is currently the co-chair of the Hawaii Youth Coalition, where she advocates for health equality for the youth of Hawaii. She has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from Hawaii Pacific University.

Heather Lusk (Harm Reduction the Basics and Beyond) was the Executive Director at the CHOW Project, Hawai`i’s statewide syringe exchange and harm reduction agency. At the time of the conference she was on the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Immunization Coalition, the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai`i, and Harm Reduction Hawai`i.

Calvin Marquez Jr. (At Risk Youth)  worked at Life Foundation as their Event’s and Development Manager. A former HIV prevention specialist, his target population was the MSM (Men who Sleep with Men) community with a specialty in high risk youth who frequented bars and nightclubs.   

Pamela Menter, M.A. (Substance Abuse & Intoxication in Homeless Shelters). was Program Director for Safe Haven/Mental Health Kokua, a transitional shelter serving homeless severely mentally ill adults in Honolulu’s Downtown/Chinatown.  

Connie Mitchell, BS, MSN, (Substance Abuse & Intoxication in Homeless Shelters) was the Executive Director of The Institute for Human Services, (IHS). 

Camaron Miyamoto (Cultural Competency with Transgender) was a gay rights advocate who has been active with many local organizations including the American Friends Service Committee and currently with the University of Hawaii. At the UH Manoa Campus Camaron is the Gay Liberation Project Coordinator. As such he works extensively with LBGT youth and their issues. 

Dina Morley (Working with Active Users) LCSW, CSAC worked  in Waikiki Heath Center’s HIV/Hep C Early Intervention Services (HEIS) program as a Medical Case 

Kelly Myers, LCSW, CSAC (Working With Active Users), worked at the PATH Clinic, a program of Waikiki Health Center.  

Jeanne Y. Ohta, MBA (Drug Policy) was Executive Director of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii.  

Paul Oshiro (Substance Abuse & Intoxication in Homeless Shelters) was the Program Manager for Waikiki Health Center’s Care-A-Van and Youth Outreach Homeless Programs.  

Gabby Perry (Decreasing Violence, Bullying, and Suicide) is a recent graduate of Iolani High School and is presently a freshman at the University of Hawaii Manoa.  

Thaddeus Pham (Cultural Competency with Transgender, and Pacific Islanders) is the Department of Health Adult Viral Hepatitis Prevention Coordinator.   

Rodney “Ni” Powell (Harm Reduction and Body Art) holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from UH, with a focus on behavioral health and the impact on Pacific Island immigrant communities.  As a tattooist, Ni began tattooing in 1998 after being mentored by renowned tattooists Tricia Allen and SuʻaSuluʻapeʻAiseaToetuʻu.  

Tracy Ryan (Sex Work and Trafficking)   is the Executive Director of Harm Reduction Hawaii.. She is a leading voice for A.P.L.E.  (Arresting Prostitutes is Legal Exploitation.) 

Merina Sapolu (Pacific Islanders) is a Health Educator and Co-coordinator for Breast & Cervical Cancer Control Program at Kokua Kalihi Valley and has been Clinic health educator for HIV/AIDS & STDs for almost 20 years.   

Peter Tuiolosega Silva (Harm Reduction Basics and Beyond)   was STD, HIV and hepatitis counselor for the Department of Health in East Hawai'i County.  

Deborah Smith (At Risk Youth) works for Hale Kipa as a supervisor for Youth Outreach Project (YO). Here she works with homeless, runaway, and street-identified kids. 

Innocenta Sound-Kikku (Pacific Islanders) is a community advocate and organizer.  She currently works at Kokua Kalihi Valley Community Health Center as a Program Manager for Lei Hipu`u, working with young moms and their children to develop and strengthen their parenting skills.   

Peggy Sucher (Harm Reduction and Body Art) is an internationally recognized certified pathogen and safety trainer for the Alliance of Professional Tattooists.  

Brandi Tamasoa (At Risk Youth) was a youth advocate currently working for the Life Foundation as a HIV Prevention Specialist.

Laurie Temple (Opening Plenary Speaker) was a staff attorney and lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) of Hawaii.  She is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Loyola Law School, and prior to joining the ACLU, worked at the California Women’s Law Center and the Western Law Center for Disability Rights.

Rev. Pam Vessels (Harm Reduction and Kapuna) is an ordained minister with standing in the UCC and Disciples of Christ denominations.  For ten years she did outreach (STD/HIV) on the streets at night in Waikiki with Sex Workers/Injection Drug Users and was known as “the condom lady”. She has been a spokesperson for APLE (Arresting Prostitutes is Legal Exploitation) and a director of Harm Reduction Hawaii 

Darryl Vincent, B.S., CSAC-Chief Operating Officer (Substance Abuse & Intoxication in Homeless Shelters). Darryl J. Vincent joined U.S.VETS in 2003. Darryl was the U.S.VETS Chief Operating Officer. Darryl is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.