Addressing the mental health needs of Maui fire survivors will be a necessity for Hawaii’s service providers and policymakers in the weeks, months and even years to come. The deadly Aug. 8 Lahaina fire killed at least 98 people and destroyed an estimated 2,200 structures, most of them homes. The devastation and loss have left many survivors, and their families, traumatized — and that mental health crisis can affect many aspects of the recovery process.
Hawaii’s Department of Health (DOH) has reported that it expects the behavioral health impact of the Maui wildfires to be significant and long-lasting. State health officials also expect behavioral health needs to continue to grow as the community grieves. DOH, with community input, properly sought federal aid to support accessible community mental health services, and encouragingly, just received a $17.3 million Emergency Response Grant for emergency behavioral health support.
Supporting Maui fire survivors must be the state’s top priority, and meeting their mental health needs must be included in this effort. It will be important to adequately assess needs and allocate grant funding, as indicated, to both short- and long-term needs.
Services must be one-on-one, and available in-person if that is the desire of the affected person.
There must also be an effective outreach effort to ensure that all in need of mental health care are aware of its availability and have access to it. As much as possible, outreach to survivors must involve reaching those in need where they are. Those who have experienced trauma must be fully informed of the services available, and efforts must be focused on helping those who have been traumatized feel comfortable with interacting with the therapists and other mental health care providers who are responsible for helping.
Federal funding is earmarked to support mental health interventions for families, and Hawaii’s grant application commits to funnel efforts through Maui community organizations and schools. Placing this emphasis on families and community groups is a proper course for outreach and strengthening community ties.
Addressing longer-term needs, the DOH Behavioral Health Administration plans to develop a Resiliency Center on Maui. Here, DOH must quickly staff up and be prepared to provide an array of compassionate mental health services for individuals and families impacted by the fires.
In part, the Resiliency Center will be a first stop for connecting disaster survivors with other personal and community resources to aid in the recovery process, according to DOH descriptions of the operation. Its value and success will be measured by how well the center performs this role.
Rightly, DOH has recognized that community engagement and planning is essential to developing resiliency. The community will determine the Resiliency Center’s structure, DOH has pledged —
deciding, based on need, whether there will be one center or multiple, smaller service sites.
A Maui Resiliency Center must serve to reinforce community bonds and treat fire survivors effectively by incorporating culturally sensitive approaches to healing, and being language-accessible. Community engagement and sensitive provision of services can be achieved by making Maui therapists and Maui residents an intrinsic part of the operation, as DOH has pledged to do. The federal grant will support hiring to build up Hawaii’s homegrown behavioral health workforce — a long-term benefit.
A focused, determined effort to support all those who lived and worked in West Maui before the Aug. 8 fires, including those now profoundly affected by mental health concerns, will be essential to Maui’s
disaster recovery.
