OHA Grant to Help Fund Anti-Bullying Education For Elementary, Middle School Students

A grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs through a program that supports events designed to help reinforce and strengthen Native Hawaiians will help bring anti-bullying and anti-violence education to elementary and middle school students on Kaua‘i and O‘ahu.

OHA awarded Adult Friends for Youth $5,050 from the ‘Ahahui Grant Program. Adult Friends for Youth will use the funds for its annual PEARL conventions on both islands, promoting peace, empathy, acceptance, respect and love. PEARL conventions address bullying and violence on school campuses, providing students with knowledge and tools to make schools safer.

The 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander middle school students were being bullied at the rate of 38.4% on school property and 23.6% electronically. It also found that 29.7% thought about killing themselves.

“We need to mālama our keiki and ʻōpio,” a press release from Adult Friends for Youth said.

Deborah Spencer-Chun, Adult Friends for Youth president and CEO, said in the press release that the organization is excited to partner with OHA to stop bullying, helping teach elementary and middle school youth skills to live a peaceful, empathetic, accepting, respectful and loving life.

To learn more about the PEARL conventions, click here. For more information about Adult Friends for Youth, click here.