Music for Maui Update: Music can be Heard in the Hotel Shelters!

I am so happy and honored to announce that our intentions to develop an ongoing initiative to replace ukuleles lost in the wildfires and arranging kanikapila and free group lessons for people living in the shelters have been realized.

During the past month we have been speaking with a growing group of amazing people from Maui and the neighbor islands who have been invaluable in helping us establish a process where we can provide opportunities for people living in hotel shelters to meet with music teachers and obtain ukuleles. This group includes two music teachers from Lahaina, a Maui based pediatrician whose introductions have made this all happen, representatives of the Governor's Office of Wellness and Resiliency, the Department of Health, leadership from Behavioral Health Department from The Queen’s Medical Center  in Oahu and a Hilo based music therapist specializing in trauma informed care and burnout.

As a result of support and guidance from our new friends, our music teacher relationships have visited multiple hotels and have distributed more than 140 instruments to children and adults who were impacted by the fires. The response from participants has been incredibly heartwarming and we have already ordered another 70 ukes to respond to immediate demand (and are actively seeking financial support to purchase more). We have also begun to expand our efforts and recently provided several dozen ukulele at a wellness fair for the community.

To properly manage this ongoing activity, we are developing online forms that allow residents to indicate their interest in being notified of upcoming events.  Already we have the names and contact numbers of almost 100 people who want to stay in touch. A similar resource to request events has been built for our government contacts who serve as liaisons to shelters and community events.

I am also very honored to share that a grant has been secured from the Hawaii Chapter of the American Association of Pediatric Medicine. This money has helped us provide instruments at last weekend's wellness event for children and their families and we are grateful for their support.

While we focus on responding to the immediate need of providing instruments and supporting music teachers, we continue to explore how we can introduce music therapy to those individuals who have been troubled by what they have experienced. We have made good progress identifying how this can be introduced on a local and virtual level and how local musicians can be brought into this process to create "therapeutic music experiences" with the guidance of music therapists.

Thank you for your interest in our efforts. These are the first steps of a long journey we are committed to take and your encouragement and support are incredibly appreciated.