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Na Keiki O Emalia is scheduled to host a keiki grief relief event on Sunday in Wailuku to help Maui families deal with the devastation inflicted by the Maui wildfires.
The event, which is geared to children, teens and parents, will take place at the Cameron Center and will feature games, art, giveaways as well as grief relief resources for parents seeking additional support for their children, according to a news release.
“As far as I know, there are 350 or more displaced children and teens on Maui right now,” said the event’s coordinator, Sarah Tomastik. “We want to be able to connect the parents with services, but the main point is to provide a little bit of joy.”
Na Keiki O Emalia has been sending its staff to places such as shelters, day camps and midwife birthing centers where displaced families have sought shelter and found that nearly everyone is suffering from some form of trauma.
“We lost no ohana, no property in the fires, however, we’re feeling the impact,” she said. “One pregnant mother barely got out alive with her 4-year-old, and the 4-year-old is really having a hard time. … That’s just one example out of hundreds.”
Grief can take on many forms, making it difficult to diagnose, she said. However, unresolved grief may lead to a slew of struggles such as anxiety, academic difficulties and depression that could last into adulthood if not addressed, according to Na Keiki O Emalia’s website.
The event, which is free to attend, will include opportunities to participate in various art projects including painting and sidewalk chalk, hands-on music, a bouncy house, a gaming room and more, she said. However, the event’s larger goal is to make the community’s grief resources more widely known, whether those resources come from Na Keiki O Emalia, or other organizations, she said.
Eventually, she hopes Na Keiki O Emalia’s services will also be incorporated into local schools when the public is ready. Staff have also been considering the idea of expanding their services to support parents and caregivers.
“We also want to hear from the community; how we can be of service?” Tomastik said. “And if this event goes well, we’re going to do more of them.”
With such a large-scale traumatic event, she anticipates the need for grief support to continue for quite some time.
“We want to make sure that the community knows that we are here, not only this weekend, but in the days, weeks and months to come,” she said.
Attendance is free for the Sunday event, which will run from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
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Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
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