CIVIL BEAT QUESTIONS:
“We share our mother's health.” -The Knife
The biggest issue facing Maui county is the mental health crisis.
Our healthcare system treats mental health as a personal problem, but in reality mental health is a community issue that impacts the health and safety of us all. We are interdependent.
My mental health affects my family, my neighbors. Everyone I interact with on a daily basis will pick up on my level of stress and my level of aloha.
Specifically, let's focus on the mental health of parents, as parents are the shoulders that the future of our community rests upon. Parental mental health should be our focus.
If your parents are stressed out, anxious, depressed or angry when you are a child - that imprints basic survival mechanisms in you. Some kids become reclusive loners, some abusive bullies. Abuse begets abuse. We know this.
When there is a lack of love, and the right kind of attention and presence, we seek love and attention elsewhere.
So here's the big, generative question for Maui Nui United: How might we support and empower parents, so that they may be their best possible loving presence for their children?
One generation of children who are strong and secure in themselves, who have an abundance of the right kind of attention will have the internal resources to face the challenges of the future, and will not rely upon substances and substitutes for love (i.e. junk food, binge shopping, mindless entertainment) to become loving, powerful parents, presencing future generations.
How can the County of Maui support parents to raise kind and resilient children?
We could improve the safety, services, and infrastructure of our community spaces as communities rely on safe, attractive, accessible community spaces to grow community. You can only grow community in the presence of community. It doesn't happen with people stuck behind screens.
Pukalani park has the infrastructure for an Upcountry Youth Center, including a fantastic skatepark and pool, but not the staffing or programming to activate the full potential of a community gathering place.
Our elders are essential teachers and care providers. How might the County of Maui support parents and empower kūpuna to reclaim the vitality, joy, and balance of village life?
There are proven models that are being proposed to address Mauiʻs housing crisis – inspiration from Tokyo (“The Tokyo Model”), “for base codes” (FBC) and “by-right development” which would fast-track the creation of affordable housing while maintaining strict agreed upon community guidelines. I advocate for locally sourced building materials to lower construction costs and support local industry utilizing hempcrete and bamboo for construction.
I believe development can be a force for community renewal if seen through the lens of biocultural restoration (BCR) and directed to regenerate community health. It requires a diverse portfolio of housing solutions including multi-generational family “villages” and solo-living pods for individuals, young and old, who have different needs.
There is a grander dream than living in luxury villas in isolation. We must reclaim the rich multi-cultural heritage of family-centered village life that existed before colonization. The forces of regenerative development work to strengthen local communities and repair the fabric that has led to atomization of families. Living in an interconnected and interdependent community is the best medicine for our collective mental, physical, financial, and spiritual health.
For a more ground-shifting solution, let us look to Hawaiiʻs past for inspiration. What if the housing market somehow incorporated kuleana – a sense of responsibility, a demonstration of caring for the land, and witnessed connection to the local community – as a foundational aspect of land ownership?
Could kuleana be the wall that protects the local housing market from being gutted by unrestricted, international buyers where massive amounts of wealth is flooding housing markets across the globe?
I would weave a thick pink thread around the thin blue line. The thick pink thread would be composed of community health professionals and social workers equipped to interface with and diffuse situations, not escalate them.
And I would make it a TV show.
Did you know COP is an acronym?
Community-oriented Policing.
COPs on bikes. COPs on horses.
Let's fund a league of Community Health & Safety Officers (CHSO, pronounced “queso” as in that which turns CHIPs into nachos.)
Volunteer CHSOs may inquire with Heart Corps Maui, a division of Heart Corps Hawaii, which is affiliated with Heart Corps International.
While we are on the topic of oversight, I would also add Shore Patrol duties for our Ocean Safety Officers. Get out of the booth and into the shorebreak. Save some ’okoles before they become permanent spine injuries. Mahalo!
That math feels too simple for the complexity of the problem. The moratorium is buying time for a better process and better tools to facilitate the process. If we continue to use the same process and tools, we will get more of the same outcomes: poorly considered development.
Why, in the year 2022, are we relying on thick paper reports and long committee meetings to facilitate this complex, multidimensional issue?
The framing of “pro-development” versus “pro-conservation” is a false dichotomy in Hawai'i, and is an unhelpful narrative for humanity as a whole.
Any party that seeks to diminish the cultural-ecological sanctuary that is Hawai'i Nei has no business here. They can go to Mars.
If the Honolulu-centricity of the State of Hawaii isn't obvious from the State Capitol, I would invite them to get out of the building and visit the country.
The best way to wash off a long day of virtual meetings is with a visit to a waterfall. Spend a weekend feeding the community by hunting deer in Kahikinui. Park among the camper trucks at Olowalu and grab some surf between meetings. Spend a month, or three, in residence in a food forest, like me, and enjoy the abundance of fruits falling daily.
The total business of Hawai'i is best understood when viewed outside of the Capitol.
Yes, and…
The Why is pretty simple.
The How is a bit harder.
Ask why should a body that represents and advocates on behalf of the residents of Maui be empowered and entrusted to manage the sovereign wealth of the island of Maui?
Ask why should water, the most essential form of sovereign wealth and source of community health, be managed by a private, for-profit, foreign-owned legal entity that does not adhere to self-imposed ESG (environmental social governance) standards? Why should this entity be entrusted with stewardship of Maui's own sovereign wealth fund? (Wai wai wai?)
Why would a Canadian wealth fund have a vested interest in controlling the water delivery infrastructure used to irrigate fields of diversified citrus? Why why why?
Voters in Maui County will be voting on charter amendment to establish a public water authority. I think that is the first, best step we can take to secure our future.
Recognize We Are The Ark We Have Been Waiting For.
Imagine you are Noah.
Your Neighbor is Noah too (Or Nora.)
You, Noah, and Nora have to Build the Ark.
What do you do first?
Do you…
Arrange a community potluck.
Be a community garden organizer.
Start a community composting site
Watch the nightly news with dread.
Entertain each other over pupus. Learn the names, values, and talents of your neighbors.
Join us in presencing the Resilience Games. Take one weekend to unplug from all digital devices and distractions. Spend 12, 24 or 36 hours discovering what it means to be a resilient, interdependent community. The future is coming sooner than you think.
Spotify Playlist: Property is Real. Climate Change is a Myth.
One, let's not assume everyone wants the same thing, or has the same housing needs.
We all need sanctuary. We all need safe, secure places to feel grounded, to be healthy and maintain good hygiene.
A safe, healthy environment is a fundamental human need and should be the core pillar of a functional society. A sense of security is the basic underlying need for community mental health.
The fact that many of us are not living in a safe, healthy, hygienic environments, sheltered or unsheltered, tells us a lot about modern American society.
I, for one, would enjoy the safety of a community in the canopy, Ewok-style. Some may prefer a hammock strung between two coconut palms on the beach. Others might prefer to live in a caravan of camping trucks, following the surf, or tracking herds of deer. Some may want to live on a boat, waking up in the company of whales and dolphins.
We need a canopy, or flotilla, of services to make life for the sheltered and unsheltered safe, healthy, and joyful.
Too many of us are one paycheck, one injury, or one argument away from joining the camping caravans and tent cities.
I for one do not want to be alone, on a raft, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean surrounded by sharks. No thank you.
Let's be good neighbors.
“Eh brah, you can stay over here...”
Also, is the Law of the Splintered Paddle still in effect?
“Eh brah! I see what you did there!”
“No bother me unko, I stay sleeping with one eye open. Got my fishing hook baited and my paddle is prime koa wood. Only thing you going to catch from me is dirty lickins'”
“Nah nah nah brah. I was just kidding, kolohe. What, you no can take a joke?”
"Dial 1 (808) Ask-A-Moke"
I believe mobility is a public good. Affordable mobility means less of your paycheck lost to rising fuel prices.
Affordable, reliable mobility means working class folks can get to work and students can get to school and to after school jobs.
Affordable, reliable, enjoyable mobility means more of us voluntarily choosing not to go by car, not needing to buy a second or third car. It means fewer rental cars on the road and less reliance on imports.
(Eh brah, don't tell Avis!
Brah, that guy Avis don't even live here!)
The answer is on two wheels. The answer is on four legs. The answer is on the water. The answer is a beautiful, scenic, reliable shuttle system that visitor dollars pay for and locals enjoy at a very reasonable monthly fee, ideally free, for students and kūpuna.
What is required is a diverse portfolio of accessible, equitable, desirable mobility solutions.
1: A Solution on Two Wheels
Maui is both a premier cyling destination and a fantastic climate for year round cycling.
Bikes and cars do not belong sharing the same roads. It's too dangerous and it is not necessary. We have lost too many lives of cyclists hit by cars.
I would advocate for alternative bikeways, potentially utilizing existing private road infrastructure - the old sugarcane roads and former pineapple fields.
Managed, monitored access for pedestrians, equestrians, and cyclists to greenway corridors would open safe pathways between towns for local traffic that would reduce cars on the road, improve quality of life, and make Maui more resilient in the face of supply chain disruptions and rising fuel costs.
Students should be able to walk, bike, or ride safely to school. Investing in bike networks is investing in resilience and joy.
2: The Four Legged Solution.
Maui County is Paniolo County. Enough said. Get in the saddle and enjoy the rodeo!
3: The Water Solution.
What happens when the road to Lahaina or Hana gets closed, washed out, or flooded?
What could happen if the Lana'i ferry becomes privatized?
How did locals travel inter island before airlines?
What is possible now with wind, electric, and foil technology?
Komoda Dragons: Will Paddle For Stick Donuts.
4: What if our county buses and shuttles were the most affordable, reliable way to get around the island in safety, comfort, and style?
Public transit is the lifeblood of a regenerative, inclusive economy.
Let's holoholo together.
I would like to share a lesson from the Singaporean school of economic development. We can call it the Singapore Civic Excellence Engine, or the Singapore Model for short.
It is the secret of how a tiny island nation went from being a sleepy, mosquito-filled fishing village to becoming one the most attractive places to do business in Asia, with world class infrastructure and services that rival the hospitality industry.
The secret is the people. Singapore invested heavily in improving and retaining human capital starting in the public schools.
Element 1: Pay-2-Perform
Singapore's Civic Excellence Engine begins in the schools, where students are financially rewarded for getting good grades. The government pays students when they perform, rewards accomplishment, demonstrating that the community is vested in their success and wants them to do well in school.
Element 2: Extended Paid Leave
The Singapore Model doubles down on the best and brightest graduates, providing financial support for them to study abroad, attend the best international universities, returning in 4 to 6 years transformed by their education and experience abroad to help transform their country from within the public sector. How can one know world-class without experiencing the world first?
Element 3: The Big Payback
With guaranteed jobs in the public sector, with salaries and benefits competitive with private industry, the children of Singapore's Civic Excellence Engine are now active participants in the continuous improvement and transformation of Singapore's world-class government services.
Singapore today attracts the best companies and talent from abroad. It is a shining example of investing in human capital, demanding excellence in the public sector, and encouraging the best and brightest to choose to serve in government creates a virtuous cycle of professionalism and prosperity.
How might the Singapore Model help us transform the State of Hawai'i from within?
Letʻs start with an experiment in improving human capital flowing into the capitol and county offices.
Aloha! My name is Aram and I am the prototype.