The COVID-19 pandemic created deep hardship throughout Hawaii, with its serious threats to health, jolts to the economy and shutdown of in-person education, pushing many households that formerly held firm onto shaky domestic ground. Hawaii has experienced a troubling rise in poverty in its wake, with an estimated 15% of families now subsisting on incomes that fall below federal poverty guidelines, as compared to 9% in 2018.

To Hawaii’s credit, the pandemic also roused widespread recognition of the need to help those who have suffered. One hopeful development was the establishment of a state Office of Wellness and Resilience (OWR), signed into law in July 2022. Establishment of the OWR — the first statewide agency of its kind in the U.S. — reflects growing concern among legislators and social service providers over a “hidden epidemic” of trauma — aka hurt, injury or damage — in Hawaii, magnified by the pandemic’s stresses and hardships.

On Monday, OWR participated in a gathering of about 30 nonprofit leaders to discuss solutions for Hawaii’s persistent generational cycle of poverty, and the hurdles faced by individuals seeking to break free of its traumas. At the gathering, Child &Family Service (CFS) president and CEO Amanda Pump presented findings from CFS’ experience with Transition to Success (TTS), a pilot program that CFS has found effective. The program, and the sharing of information between agencies and OWR, raises new hope that Hawaii can now lead the way, as it should, in establishing effective strategies to help individuals and families recover from trauma, becoming more stable and resilient.

Pump called on other nonprofits Monday to join CFS in adopting the data-driven, individual- and family-centered approach to fight harmful effects of poverty. The program uses “consistent procedures” and “analytics” in matching services to those in need, according to its founder, Marcella Wilson, guiding clients to identify their own motivations and map out steps required to reach goals.

Data from the TTS pilot program, which served 986 participants between 2016 and 2023 on Maui and Kauai, demonstrates its effectiveness, Pump said, leading to “statistically significant” improvements in many “social determinants of health,” including mental health, employment and income level, life skills, access to child care or transportation, childhood education and abuse of drugs or alcohol.

The need is growing, as is the proportion of families living in poverty, and that’s a change for the worse that Hawaii cannot afford to ignore. About 44% of the state’s population currently lives with a household income below what’s necessary to afford basic necessities for living, despite participating in the workforce. Below this threshold, families are considered “asset-limited, income-constrained, employed” — ALICE households. For CFS, which offers support, counseling and therapeutic programs for individuals and families to help them recover from trauma and deter abuse and neglect, breaking cycles of poverty is also a pressing goal: About four out of five clients currently meet federal poverty guidelines, and nearly all fall below the ALICE threshold.

OWR director Tia L.R. Hartsock, who attended Monday’s event, said OWR has a survey out now to gauge social determinants of health statewide, and will use that data to “systematically address” needed services — adding that CFS’ work “will only enhance” the work of the collective groups.

CFS plans to expand TTS to Oahu and Hawaii island by year’s end, and is offering certifications to other nonprofits to expand the approach. This and other effective programs to break Hawaii’s cycles of poverty must be sought out and adopted with urgency.