The tried-and-true formula for almost every superhero story begins with a seemingly unremarkable person who is chosen, by chance or destiny, to carry a mantle of hope in a bleak and weary world becoming the champion of the vulnerable for a cause much greater than themself.

You’ll want to hear this superhero story.

The year is 2023. Humankind faces numerous existential threats to their very existence on Earth. As the world scrambles to defend itself against the most formidable of perceived menaces, villainy slinks within the shadows of the unsuspecting. Thriving off egocentrism and fueled by greed and selfishness, this dastardly villain picks off its victims. One. By. One.

One-by-one until entire families fall. One-by-one until entire communities fall. One-by-one until societies fall. This villain knows that a community divided is easy prey. It strikes, then retreats into the darkness, leaving little trace of its crime: fear, worry, anguish, and suffering. It waits for its next opportunity.

“Agents of Advocacy” are on the move, tracking what little evidence they can find. Their reports are outdated and sparse, but string them together and it begins to form a narrative: Native Hawaiians are disproportionately represented among the victims and, thus, are facing greater inequities and disparities.

One agent scans a 2015 report and reads, “39.1% of students enrolled in a Special Education (SPED) program compared to representing only 26.0% of the total public school population.” That’s the majority of SPED students.

The agent continues, “the number of children with autism between the ages of 3-12 receiving special education services in Hawaiʻi Department of Education (DOE) schools rose from 2% in 2000 to 8% in 2015.” The agent surmises that there is clearly an issue with diagnoses and a more accurate and updated report would reveal a much larger number of vulnerable children.

Another agent digs through scattered reports and, holding the 2014 report to the light, reads, “11.2% of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander children experienced at least one intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), and almost one third of these children reported more than one I/DD.” That’s roughly 17,000 children experiencing I/DD. This is just one moment of a person’s life. What about life after school? How many have already been left behind?

A third agent has a somber message that resonates among the others: the current system is not working. It’s broken. Or maybe it wasn’t designed to protect. Its dysfunction creates dark zones, gap areas devoid of light that exacerbate and worsen the vulnerability of our most vulnerable. We need to fill the gap and stave off the villain. “We need a hero,” the agent says.

“No,” the agents realize. Not a hero, but rather, heroes. The darkness is expansive. These gaps are numerous. They’re riddled throughout every facet of our lives. But we are greater. We are stronger together. “Ua lehulehu a manomano ka ʻikena a ka Hawaiʻi.” Great and numerous is the knowledge of the Hawaiian people.

In this moment, the agents knew that the system needed to be redesigned with the purpose of adequately addressing the needs of our most vulnerable through every stage of life.

It needs to uplift and empower individuals and ʻohana that experience these challenges. It is imperative that culturally appropriate ways to help, support, and protect ourselves and each other need to be re-established. They knew that it would take as many of us as possible – together – to rise as heroes for this cause. The “Agents of Advocacy” set off to find their heroes.

The State of Hawaiʻi has recognized the month of October as Disabilities Awareness Month. OHA’s Public Policy Program has launched a major policy campaign to address the needs of individuals and ʻohana experiencing intellectual and developmental disabilities. We know this is huge, and we’re dedicated to this endeavor.

For more information on OHA’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities campaign, please reach out to OHA’s Public Policy Manager (Advocacy) Zuri Aki at zurica@oha.org. For more information about how to get directly involved with other ʻohana facing these challenges, please reach out to Makalani at makalani@apoakea.org or visit ʻApoākea at www.apoakea.org.

The post Prologue to a Spectrum of Hope: Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

Where there’s perpetual demand, shouldn’t there be an ample number of suppliers? If food is in such high demand, why do one in six children face hunger in Hawaiʻi? Why do one in six kūpuna face hunger in Hawaiʻi? Why is it that about half the families with children in Hawaiʻi are food insecure? Is this not a crisis?

When it comes to supplying demands for “affordable” housing, our policymakers need no invitation to fast-track solutions to the housing crisis, even if that means incentivizing housing developers through any means necessary.

So, what about food insecurity? Where are all the incentives for farmers, ranchers, fishers, and hunters to provide food to meet this demand? Where’s the funding to purchase agricultural lands for bona fide agricultural operations?

I think we know why this isn’t really a thing. Growing houses makes more money than growing food.

Land has always been a battlefield issue in Hawaiʻi and it stands at the very core of the Native Hawaiian plight. Our biggest problems stem from being severed from our lands. This problem goes back hundreds of years. But let’s go back just a few.

In 2005, the legislature passed a law (becoming Act 8), which established the “Hawaiʻi 2050 Task Force.” The task force produced a report in 2008 expressing concern about the rapid loss of agricultural lands. The report stated, “The current land market does not favor a commitment to long-term farming operations. Lands classified as Agriculture carry the second lowest tax burden next to Conservation. Landowners can raise prices and easily hold vacant land, allowing it to lie fallow or be used only for short periods, as they await a turn in the market.”

Translation: Ag-land is cheaper, so real estate investors buy it and hold it until they can flip it for profit.

The updated 2021 Hawaiʻi 2050 Sustainability Plan isn’t as transparent about the real estate industry’s contribution to the loss of food producing lands, growing food insecurity, and Hawaiʻi’s hunger crisis.

Nevertheless, the report does contain this ominous message: “Continue the State’s purchase of fee interest for available prime agricultural lands before they are subject to non-agricultural development.”

Which sounds like agricultural lands are still being targeted for non-agricultural uses.

The rapid loss of agricultural lands is a major loss for Native Hawaiians. Our kūpuna knew: “Na ke kanaka mahiʻai ka imu ō nui (the well-filled imu belongs to the person who tills the soil).”

Native Hawaiians can use agricultural lands to develop and lead a robust food economy. Controlling agricultural lands will reconnect us with ʻāina, providing the most appropriate space for our cultural practices.

In this space, we can grow culturally relevant foods that vastly improve our health, develop agricultural housing, achieve financial stability, restore traditional communal bonds that once made us incredibly strong, and expand our reach into every facet of the food system: Native Hawaiian-owned global health food stores, Native Hawaiian-owned Michelin Star restaurants, Native Hawaiians zeroing hunger, Native Hawaiians revolutionizing healthcare. The possibilities are endless.

OHA Public Policy is focusing on laying the groundwork for a Native Hawaiian-led food economy in Hawaiʻi. To support this initiative, please reach out to Public Policy Manager Zuri Kaʻapana Aki at zurica@oha.org.

The post Policy Proposal: Native Hawaiians Should Lead Hawaiʻi’s Food Economy appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.