{"id":26114,"date":"2022-07-26T13:27:03","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T23:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigislandthieves.com\/?p=26114"},"modified":"2022-07-26T13:27:07","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T23:27:07","slug":"hawai%ca%bbi%ca%bbs-sb-2482-signed-into-law-creating-nation%ca%bbs-first-statewide-legislated-office-of-wellness-resilience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bigislandthieves.com\/hawai%ca%bbi%ca%bbs-sb-2482-signed-into-law-creating-nation%ca%bbs-first-statewide-legislated-office-of-wellness-resilience\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawai\u02bbi\u02bbs SB 2482 Signed Into Law, Creating Nation\u02bbs First Statewide-Legislated Office of Wellness & Resilience"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Senator Donovan Dela Cruz (Senate District 22 – Mililani Mauka, Waipi\u2018o Acres, Wheeler, Wahiawa, and Whitmore Village) joined Kamehameha Schools, the Hawai\u02bbi Community Foundation, and numerous community organizations to announce that Senate Bill 2482<\/a>, now Act 209<\/a>, was signed into law, creating the first statewide-legislated Office of Wellness & Resilience (OWR) in the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator Dela Cruz issued the following statement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrauma is often referenced as the \u2018Hidden Epidemic\u2019 and has directly contributed to the suicide, addiction, domestic abuse, mental illness, and chronic health conditions. Trauma does not discriminate; it affects individuals, families, and communities of all ethnicities and socio-economic statuses across our state. Here at home, 34.7% of Hawai\u2018i women and 24.1% of Hawai\u2018i men experience intimate partner physical or sexual violence and intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes. Every day, 5,973 people across our islands are experiencing homelessness. In a recent survey of identified sex trafficking survivors here in Hawai\u02bbi, 23% reported that they were children when they were first sex trafficked. Furthermore, 25% reported that their first sex trafficker was a family member (parent, guardian, sibling, grandfather, or uncle). By sponsoring legislation for the Statewide Trauma Informed Task Force (ACT209) in 2021 and introducing SB2482 (ACT209) to establish the Office of Wellness & Resilience, we are committing to create a trauma-informed state that will better serve our families and improve community health and wellness outcomes. This office will ensure that every keiki, k\u016bpuna, and resident of this state have access to safe, caring individuals and vital resources to live a healthy and thriving life here in Hawai\u02bbi.\u201d    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trauma-informed care is an approach based on the growing knowledge of the impact of psychological trauma and how common it is in our communities. It aims to ensure a welcoming and engaging environment and services for service recipients and staff. Examples of trauma include experiencing or observing physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; neglect; having a family member with a mental health or substance use disorder; experiencing or witnessing violence, and poverty and systemic discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research shows that experiences in the first few years of life build change into the biology of the human body that, in turn, influence a person\u2019s lifelong physical, mental and spiritual health. Trauma can lead to incalculable human and economic costs if not appropriately treated. Lifelong impacts include increased risks for poor physical and mental health and alcoholism and drug abuse and increased state spending across multiple programs linked to lifetime costs of approximately $200,000 per person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve known the suffering many of us struggle with, including historical and cultural traumas, has very real effects on our health status individually and as a whole,\u201d said Tia Roberts Hartsock, chair of the Act 209 Trauma Informed Care Task Force. \u201cWe better understand how long-existing traumas, as well as newer community traumas like COVID-19, impact how we respond to stress, and we are striving to map out ways we can connect our state\u2019s workforce and the families we serve to practices that promote wellness and build resilience.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This new Office of Wellness & Resilience will:<\/p>\n\n\n\n