Citation

Pantumsinchai P, Llaneza B, Lee P. J. Indig. Soc. Dev. 2023; 12(1): 74-88.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawaii at Manoa)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

Love comes in many shapes and may be directed in many directions, be it to oneself, a romantic partner, oneʻs family, the community, and so forth. In Hawaiian culture, one of the most important values is aloha. More than a simple greeting, it is love with all its depths and complexities including pilina (relationships) and ʻōiwi (native intelligence), among many other values. This article describes how aloha as love was taught and reinforced as a life skill for ʻōpio (young adults) living in a transitional housing program in Hawaiʻi. ʻŌpio who have lived experiences with systems such as foster care, juvenile justice, and houselessness often lack the life skills to manage daily life and maintain supportive relationships, leading to cycles of struggles as adults. Yet they have a great capacity for love that can be honed into life skills such as communication, emotional regulation, boundary setting, and reconciliation. This paper tells the moʻolelo (stories) of ʻōpio learning the life skills of love and the staff who sought to build an ʻohana-like (family) community.

Language: en

Keywords

aloha; communication; culture; executive functioning; foster care; Hawaiʻi; life skills; Native Hawaiian; opportunity youth; systems-involved youth; transitional aged-youth