MacNaughton Foundation Grantee Spotlight: Ho'ola Na Pau Receives $2M donation.
HONOLULU STAR ADVERTISER
An organization that assists victims of child sex trafficking has received a $2 million donation to go toward costs to build a residential treatment facility for victims in Hawaii.
The Bromley Foundation awarded Ho’ola Na Pua (New Life for Our Children) the philanthropic gift that will go toward the treatment facility to be named “The Bromley Family Pearl Haven Campus” that is slated to open in the first quarter of 2021.
Programs at the treatment center described to be the first of its kind in the state will provide a continuum of care for trafficking victims.
Jessica Munoz, founder and president of Ho’ola Na Pua, said, “The Bromley Foundation gift will enable Ho’ola Na Pua to fulfill the vision for Pearl Haven. Exploited girls will finally have access to comprehensive treatment so they can begin to heal from the most horrific forms of abuse and complex trauma.
The organization began a fundraising campaign in 2016 to raise $9 million to go toward construction and renovation costs to an existing 20,000 square-foot structure at an undisclosed 12-acre location on Oahu.
With the donation by The Bromley Foundation plus another $250,000 from an anonymous matching donor, the organization has since raised approximately $8 million.
The facility will feature 19 bedrooms in three wings with a capacity to house up to 32 girls ages 11 to 17.
It will also include a commercial kitchen, multipurpose room and separate rooms for individual and group therapy sessions.
Lauran Bromley of The Bromley Foundation learned of the organization’s plans to build the treatment facility through fundraising efforts dubbed #PearlHaven19Challenge” that Ho’ola Na Pua launched in recent months amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The outbreak has increased the number of youth vulnerable to trafficking, Munoz said, magnifying the need for a safe residential center for victims. “As a community, we have a responsibility to stand up now than ever before to trafficking in Hawaii.”
In a statement, Bromley said, “Jessica and her team at Ho’ola Na Pua have made remarkable strides against enormous adversity on the issue of trafficking. The future and safety of our children is a community’s responsibility.”