Governor Josh Green, M.D.

JOSH GREEN, M.D. 

GOVERNOR 

KE KIAʻĀINA

OFFICE OF WELLNESS AND RESILIENCE RECOGNIZED 

FOR MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE WORK ON MAUI 

Director Tia L. R. Hartsock receives 2023 Daniel K. Inouye Award 

from the Hawai‘i Psychological Association 

  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        

January 19, 2024  

  

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Psychological Association (HPA) today announced Tia L. R. Hartsock, director of the Office of Wellness and Resilience (OWR) in the Office of the Governor, as its 2023 Daniel K. Inouye Award recipient.  

 

“This award is a special one because it recognizes a non-psychologist who has made outstanding contributions to improve the quality of life and psychological health of the people of Hawai‘i,” said Dr. Raymond A. Folen, executive director of HPA. “Our Awards Committee chose Tia as an outstanding candidate for the honor to commemorate her work on the coordinated mental health response to the Maui wildfires.” 

 

In the early morning of Aug. 9, 2023, Governor Josh Green, M.D., directed the Office of Wellness and Resilience to help coordinate the state mental health response on Maui. Director Hartsock immediately reached out to the Hawai‘i Trauma-Informed Care Task Force and the OWR network of colleagues working in state government, community organizations and other agencies on Maui to jump on a meeting to connect. At noon on the same day, the group convened more than 300 mental health providers and organizations on an online meeting.  

 

In the following weeks and months, with the unwavering help of the HPA and other partners, nearly 275 licensed psychologists, social workers and other licensed mental health providers were deployed to provide free, trauma-informed support to those affected by the wildfires.  

 

“The Maui Strong Mental Health Response community, as we started calling it, has not stopped since the fires,” said Hartsock. “We are in this for the long haul and continue to meet weekly to break down systemic barriers, hold wellness events, and plan for the long-term mental health recovery of survivors and their families.” 

The Hawai‘i Psychological Association (HPA) will honor this year’s awardees at a luncheon on Friday, Jan. 19 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the BSIDE Lounge in Ward Centre. The mission of the Hawai’i Psychological Association (HPA) is to enhance the quality of life for the people of Hawai’i by encouraging, integrating, applying and communicating the contributions of psychology in all its branches. To learn more, visit https://hawaiipsychology.org.  

 

About the Office of Wellness and Resilience:   

The mission of the Office of Wellness and Resilience is to strengthen our state systems and services, using healing-centered care principles as strategies to make Hawai‘i a trauma-informed state. We break down barriers that impact the physical, social and emotional well-being of Hawai‘i’s people – from keiki to kūpuna. To learn more, visit governor.hawaii.gov.      

   

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Media Contacts:  

  

Erika Engle     

Press Secretary     

Office of the Governor, State of Hawai‘i     

Office: 808-586-0120     

Email: [email protected]     

      

Makana McClellan       

Director of Communications       

Office of the Governor, State of Hawaiʻi      

Cell: 808-265-0083       

Email: [email protected]       

  

Erica Yamauchi  

Director of Communications and Engagement  

Office of Wellness and Resilience  

Office of the Governor, State of Hawaiʻi   

Cell: 808-859-0051  

Email: [email protected]