Nonprofit Seeks To Reach West Residents With Ewa Expansion

Hale Kipa has served as a haven for at-risk youths for more than four decades, and now the nonprofit seeks to expand its reach with a forthcoming Ewa campus.

The additional service comples will target what has been identified as an Oahu area of need.

“The decision to prior-itize this complex was not made easily or lightly,” said Tracy Janowicz, director of quality improvement and facilities.

“After significant research, it became clear that the majority of the youths and families that Hale Kipa serves are in Central and Leeward Oahu.”

With locations currently in Waikiki, Honolulu and Kaneohe, an additional campus in Ewa would enable easier access for those that use Hale Kipa’s services the most.

The organization has been in the process of acquiring the funds necessary to begin construction for several years.

In order to achieve its goal of building a campus in Ewa, it launched a capital campaign, writing grant proposals for state and city funds.

The organization is now $800,000 away from the $6 million needed to obtain a USDA loan that will provide it with $12 million, so it’s now recruiting support from individuals and businesses.

The campus complex, which is expected to begin construction this summer, will be built on the Old Fort Weaver Road and will include all the programs Hale Kipa currently offers.

“It includes not only our historical roots as a shelter, which is where we started in 1970,” said Janowicz, “but also the educational facility, which addresses the educational and vocational needs of our youths, (skills that are) essential to their economic, as well as their emotional emancipation.”

Shelter services, foster care and professional counseling are some of the ways in which Hale Kipa supports at-risk youths.

According to Janowicz, the organization’s mission is to “provide opportunities and environments that strengthen and encourage youths, their families and communities to actualize their potential and social responsibility.”

It has developed a video that shares the story of Hale Kipa and provides more information on the organization from the perspective of the youths it assists. It can be viewed on the homepage of its website, halekipa.org.

Those interested in supporting the construction of the Ewa campus can contact Hale Kipa at 615 Piikoi St., Suite 203, via its website or by phone at 589-1829, ext. 102.