The proof of Triston Sarte’s growth over the last couple of years comes not only in the positive steps he’s taken to better himself but also in hard truths he’s been willing to confront.
“My life growing up wasn’t bad,” said Sarte, 18. “My family provided for me with food on the table, clothes on my back and a roof over my head. They didn’t have a lot of money, but they took care of me the best that they could. The only problem was me.”
Sarte and his younger brother Jaison grew up in Waipio surrounded by family — their mother and her boyfriend, their aunt and her boyfriend, and their grandmother — but found himself unmoored by poor decisions and youthful recklessness.
He was smoking marijuana by age 15. By 16, he had also gotten involved in a gang.
“I was just a kid and I wanted to be cool so that attracted me to being a part of their group,” he said. “They asked me if I wanted to join them and I thought to myself, ‘Why not? That’s cool and no one will mess with me.’”
It wasn’t long before Sarte fell afoul of the law and was arrested for drug and weapons offenses.
Sarte was placed on probation and was required to do community service and complete a drug program. But it would take much more for him to repair his relationship with his family and avoid backsliding into his old habits.
Through family friend David Donahue, a youth specialist with Goodwill Hawaii’s Ola I Ka Hana program for at-risk youth, Sarte was able to receive the personal, academic and vocational support he needed to regain control of his life.
Sarte’s first steps were to earn a general education diploma, which he did through the McKinley Community School for Adults, and prepare for regular employment.
“David, my youth counselor, helped me tackle the exam section by section so that I wouldn’t get overwhelmed,” Sarte said. “We also took excursions to visit various places of employment in the community and pick up job applications. David would coach us through the entire application process, starting with filling out the job applications, to developing a resume and setting up mock interviews.”
Sarte started working for Jamba Juice in September and enjoys taking care of his own responsibilities and earning his own money.
He said the job is a stepping stone to his ultimate goal of becoming a firefighter. He’s saving money to study fire science at Honolulu Community College.
Sarte said the program has helped bring him closer to his family, particularly his mother.
“What kept me going through all of my difficulties was the fact that I was tired of disappointing my family,” Sarte said. “I kept seeing them crying over my actions and I wanted to stop hurting them. I decided it was time to grow up and become a better man. I wanted to make my family proud. I realized that everybody has to grow up sooner or later, and I decided to do it now.”
Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com
