Family Strong Hawaii

WHAT THE FAMILY STRONG HAWAII PROGRAM IS ABOUT

FAMILY STRONG HAWAII

is a platform for the promotion and development of  services, activities, and resources committed to strengthening  the health and resilience of our Soldiers and  Families throughout all deployment phases.        

FAMILY STRONG HAWAII

is guided by a dynamic, voluntary team of Soldiers, Families, health providers, service agencies and community supporters...united in the promotion of health and wellness and named

"Pōhai Pūlama " (The Caring Circle).

        Our Mission:

       "Pōhai Pūlama " is a voluntary, community-driven, multi-agency group, whose focus is wellness and resilience for our Army community through the collaboration of relevant agencies and stakeholders.

        Our Vision:

        To be a leading coordinating group dedicated to wellness and resilience through working with the Army community and driven by the Soldiers and Families for the needs of the Soldiers and Families.

        Our Goals:

        1.  To break down barriers to collaboration through active communication and sharing of ideas and resources;

        2.  To develop and promote innovative, contemporary, effective techniques and protocols to address ongoing challenges facing today's Soldiers and Families; and

        3. To maintain continuity of programs and services provided in support of Soldiers and Families.

        Our Priorities:

        1.  Priority Number One is the wellness of the "Soldier" (Pre and Post Deployment issues, PTSD, mTBI, WAQ, etc);

        2.  Priority Number Two is the wellness of the "Soldier and Family"  (Workshops/Conferences, Family Strong Series, Gottman Couple Workshops, etc); and

        3.  Priority Number Three is to assist and support the "Soldier, Family, and Community" (Blue Star Card events, FMWR, ACS, and other Community events).

Returning Soldiers, families find support to grow stronger
April 3, 2009
By Leslie Ozawa Tripler Army Medical Center Public Affairs

     SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — “We’ve been separated for 15 months. In that time, we’ve each established new routines, assumed new responsibilities and endured new stresses,” said Lisa McCaffrey, wife of Col. Todd McCaffrey, commander, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) and its 4,000 Soldiers who returned home last month from Iraq.  “Now we need to reintegrate our lives, our routines and responsibilities,” Lisa McCaffrey said.
     Last November, to help prepare for the surge of homecomings, Lisa McCaffrey and some key leaders of the 2nd SBCT's rear detachment, family readiness groups, Army family services, health care providers and community leaders began to meet, informally, to plan a series of workshops to help spouses and children prepare for the return of their Soldiers.
     The group put together nine different workshops and classes, billed as the “Family Strong Series.” The classes, led by Schofield Barracks Health Clinic, Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC), and family support service providers, were conducted during eight days in December, January and February.
     More than a hundred spouses and children attended the classes. Attendees learned practical tips and insights on coping, building social networks and getting to know the Soldier, spouse and parent in their lives.
     Other courses focused on common post-combat reactions, health concerns, stress reduction, spiritual resiliency and changes in finances and jobs.
     The program organizers continue to meet weekly at the Schofield Barracks Health Clinic, to share information and to coordinate other activities to support families.
     “I know of no other installation in the Army, where community service providers and key leaders in the Army family community have come together in such a way to share information and work together to improve how we serve Soldiers and their families,” said Col. Michael Brumage, commander, Schofield Barracks Health Clinic.
     As the nation continues to mobilize its Reserve and National Guard units to fight the global war on terrorism, fences that once separated local communities from active Army communities have begun to disappear.
     Two key volunteers in this Family Strong coalition have been Ed Kubo, U.S. Attorney for Hawaii, and his wife, Tammy. Kubo’s son, a reservist with the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, is on his first deployment to the Middle East.  The Kubos are actively involved in the battalion’s family readiness group and in sending care packages to deployed Hawaii reservists.
     Kubo has also been concerned about Schofield Soldiers and helped establish a wounded warrior support program. While doing so, he found himself working with spouses and parents of active Army Soldiers.  “Having been an Army family member for more than 20 years of my life, I know how extended deployments to a war zone affect Soldiers and their families,” said Kubo, whose father served during the Korean War and Vietnam Conflict.  “Our son is doing his duty for our country, and we are so very proud of him,” said Tammy Kubo. “We feel so much a part of the Army family that we will do all we can to support and assist our Soldiers and Army families, by helping this valuable Family Strong Hawaii program.”
     The Kubos recently set up a model Web site, ww.familystronghawaii.com, for announcements and weblinks to diverse programs and events now being offered to all Soldiers and family members, active duty and reservists, all together on a single site.  “The Army offers a wealth of services to Soldiers and family members, but they are sponsored by different Army organizations, which operate pretty much independently of the others,” Kubo said.  “We’d like the Web site to be like a local marketplace, where people can easily learn about all these wonderful activities and events, so they can take advantage of them. We invite people to submit information about their programs,” Kubo continued.
      “The Family Strong series was formed to link a variety of existing and newly tailored programs to serve Army families and Soldiers,” said McCaffrey. “We are focusing on building support packages for leaders of small units to meet their Soldiers’ unique needs.”
     The group has continued to solidify and has named itself “Pohai Pulama,” while taking other steps to establish more formal ties with other Army organizations. Its name, Pohai Pulama, means a caring circle of people.