Office of Wellness and Resilience

Project Manager Keala-Kaopuiki-Santos, Director of Communications & Engagement Erica Yamauchi, Project Manager Naomi Leipold, Director Tia L. R. Hartsock, Project Manager Kevin Thompson, Executive Administrative Assistant Jodie Burgess.

Our Mission

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.

History

Gov. David Ige signed Senate Bill 2482 in July 2022, creating the nation’s first statewide-legislated Office of Wellness and Resilience. It is now known as Act 291.

The Office was founded in January 2023 with Gov. Josh Green’s appointment of Tia L. R. Hartsock as its inaugural director. We became fully staffed in June.

Maui Mental Health Resources:

Hawai‘i CARES 988

Hawai‘i CARES hires locally based staff who specialize in providing supportive counseling, screening for urgent or emergent mental health or substance use needs, and recommendations for behavioral health assessments and services and crisis intervention.

Call 808-832-3100/800-753-6879, or call/text 988.

In-Person Support

In-person support is available at Maui Community Health Centers in Wailuku at 121 Mahalani St. and Lāhainā Comprehensive Health Center on Akoakoa Place (below the Lāhainā Civic Center). Services include counseling, psychiatric care and resource guidance. Services provided by the Hawai‘i Department of Health, Queen’s Health System and Kaiser Permanente.

Click here to view fact sheets in various languages about these services:

For more information: https://health.hawaii.gov/mauiwildfires/medical-behavioral-health/.

Hawai’i UTelehealth

Hawai’i UTelehealth offers free telehealth appointments via live video and audio with a psychologist, psychiatrist, family medicine specialist, mental health counselor and/or substance abuse counselor for all individuals in the state of Hawai‘i through 2026, with a focus on our Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and rural communities, as well as older adults.

All you need is access to the Internet and a webcam; most mobile phones, tablets and laptops have these built into the device. Call 808-375-2745, email [email protected] or visit hawaiiutelehealth.org. Callers will be directed to the website to set up an account and connect with a provider within a week.If you require an interpreter, please call our office at 808-375-2745 for assistance. If you already have an interpreter with you, please continue with online screening. By continuing you are agreeing to have reviewed and agreed upon the consent terms and conditions as communicated to you by your interpreter.

REACH

Free, confidential, short-term counseling services for state employees. For more information, visit: https://dhrd.hawaii.gov/.

Hazel: Mental Wellness for Hawai‘i Public School Students

Hazel Health has partnered with Hawaii Dept. of Education (DOE) to provide access to quality health care services for all students, at no cost to families, this 2023-2024 school year. A school health representative can initiate a video visit with a Hazel Health licensed therapist while your child is at school. Therapeutic talk story sessions with Hazel Health are a safe space, and are private and confidential.

To connect your child to care, please consent for services at my.hazel.co/hawaiipublicschools, then call Hazel Health at 808-784-7363.

Disaster Distress Helpline

Free, 24/7 for support at 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746.

Helpline staff provide confidential counseling, referrals and other needed support services in more than 100 other languages via third-party interpretation services by indicating their preferred language to the responding counselor.

Para Español: Los hispanohablantes pueden presionar “2” para obtener asistencia bilingüe.

(For Spanish: Spanish-speakers can press “2” for bilingual support.)

A videophone option with direct crisis counseling and support for deaf or hard-of-hearing American Sign Language users is also available. Disaster survivors and responders can connect with trained DDH crisis workers fluent in ASL by dialing 1-800-985-5990 from a videophone-enabled device or via an “ASL Now” link accessible at DisasterDistress.samhsa.gov.

Kaiser Permanente: Behavioral Health Care

As our community continues to come to grips with the emotional impact of this disaster, Kaiser Permanente is offering mental health and addiction services and resources. Members do not need a referral to access behavioral health care at Kaiser Permanente.

‍Call our Resilience Support Hotline at 808-446-6676, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our services are confidential, free, and available to anyone affected by the Maui wildfires. View our Resilience Support Hotline flyer here.

Maui and other Neighbor Islands: 1-888-945-7600
O‘ahu: 808-432-7600‍

All are welcome to join our Behavioral Health classes, including a series on Healing After Loss, at no cost for both members and non-members. Members also can get support for emotional wellness through on-demand self-care apps at no additional cost. Visit kp.org/selfcareapps to get started.

Mālama Maui

Newsletters

Our newsletter is distributed every other month. We’d love to share our updates with you. To be added to our mailing list, please email us below with the subject line <Newsletter>.

Read our past newsletters:

GOV_OWR_Newsletter5_March24e Download