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PU‘UHONUA, CREATING PLACES OF HEALING MARK PATTERSON When I was young growing up in Mäkaha, there was a homeless drunkard named Raymond who was always sitting at the front entrance of the 7-11 next to Cornets store. Once or twice a month, my grandmother would go to the store to pick up Raymond and bring him to our house. Grandma would feed him and make him clean the yard. When he was finished she would let him wash up, clothe him, and feed him again. Grandma would give him money, and then Raymond would leave, walking back to 7-11. Shortly thereafter, he would be sitting at 7-11 smelling like alcohol again and begging for money. Finally , after witnessing several cycles of my kupuna’s compassion, I questioned my grandmother and asked her why she did what she did for Raymond. My grandmother would smile at me and simply say, “Bumbye you understand.” TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE AT WCCC This is a story about the Trauma-Informed Care Initiative at the Hawai‘i Women’s Community Correctional Center (WCCC), where we are working within the visionary framework of creating a pu‘uhonua—a place to live a forgiven life, a place for transformation, a place that nurtures healing within the individual, family, and community. Taking a community-building approach, we use a Mind, Body, Spirit, and Place perspective to address trauma and to work toward community healing and well-being. I am often asked why I do what I do. For twenty years, I was a correctional officer at Hälawa Correctional Facility and at the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC). I then became warden at WCCC. How does a twenty -year veteran adult correctional officer walk into WCCC and start speaking about trauma-informed care and sanctuaries of healing for prisoners? When I first became the acting warden at the Women’s Community Correctional Center, it was important for me to truly understand Hawai‘i’s female offender population. So, I researched, studied, and found out that at a national Patterson, Pu‘uhonua, Creating Places of Healing 275 level, female offenders’ crimes were mostly drug-related and non-violent. Female offenders typically followed pathways that separated them from their peers. Common factors, or points along their paths, included 1) undereducation , 2) few employable skills, 3) a lack of positive relationships over time, and 4) substance abuse. Additionally, I learned that with respect to their substance abuse, a large number of women who become addicts have suffered from some kind of significant trauma. Violence, and the trauma that it causes, is pervasive in our society. The literature shows that the vast majority of women in prison are trauma survivors , as are the majority of all women with substance abuse and/or mental health problems. An understanding of the impact of trauma on women’s lives, how trauma survivors develop coping mechanisms that can bring them to the attention of law enforcement, and what strategies can help trauma survivors to heal were all key to changing the environment of WCCC. Healing and reconciliation are crucial to addressing trauma. For many female offenders, healing is complex because it often involves the home and relationships with other family members. The process of healing and reconciliation is about more than the individual woman. With this in mind, the concept of pu‘uhonua, or sanctuary, for these females to seek a safe haven, began to become clear. When I became warden, I remember seeking counsel from my high school spiritual guide, Kahuna Pule David Ka‘upu, who provided me with a modern interpretation of the ancient pu‘uhonua. Kahu Ka‘upu talked about creating a place for forgiveness. Kahu said, “When the female offenders reach the walls of WCCC, they are forgiven for their sins; within the walls they are taught how to live a forgiven life.” His guidance has become foundational for me at WCCC. Working with female offenders and their children requires and produces heaps of compassion. The facts are staggering: usually by the time a woman is convicted and sent to WCCC, she would have already lost custody of her child or children. Indeed, by the time a female offender walks into WCCC, she would have already spent a year in one of the other CCCs on O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i, or Maui, going through detox. “Waking up” while sentenced in WCCC, the woman realizes she has lost everything. For those women who still have contact...

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