Neighborhood Place of Puna (NPP) began as community response to the high amount of child abuse in Puna and the disproportionately high removal rate of Hawaiian children from their homes.

In 2002 a collaboration of community groups including; The Island of Hawaii YMCA, Child Welfare Services, the Children’s Justice Center, Turning Point for Families and several concerned citizens submitted an application to Blue Print for Change to open a Neighborhood Place in Puna.

The collaboration was seeking to develop and support a family centered, and community driven, home visiting prevention program that would help ensure that families had access to the resources and skills necessary to raise safe and healthy children.

In August of 2002, the Island of Hawaii YMCA opened the Neighborhood Place of Puna in Pahoa to families and community groups in Puna. In 2003 NPP received additional funding from the Hawaii Children’s Trust fund.

In effort to expand the reach more families with home visiting services and create sustainability, NPP applied to the IRS for and received its 501(c) (3) non-profit organization status in 2006.

In 2010 Neighborhood Place of Puna applied for and received Title IVBII funds. This multi-year grant allowed NPP to hire staff dedicated to serving the many isolated families living in Upper Puna.

In 2013, in response to a rise in Child Abuse and Neglect in the Hilo district, Neighborhood Place of Puna opened its office in Hilo, in the mixed income neighborhood of Puueo.

Today we reside at our office location 16-105 Opukahaia St., Keaau, HI, 96749 and our temporary family housing shelter Hale ‘Iki in lower Puna. We’ve been blessed to expand staff and resources and with your help hope to grow our reach even more!

Family Strengthening Services at Neighborhood Place of Puna

Neighborhood Place of Puna works to support families raising safe and healthy keiki. We are one of the few programs East Hawai’i families can come to for financial, counseling and parenting support during stressful times and times of additional need. Our outreach workers meet clients where they are in their homes, servicing outreach from Kalapana area to Pepeekeo. We help families stay together and discover their own strengths through intensive in-home coaching based on identified protective factors. We help local families by providing logistical support, teaching, and modeling behavior. We also support by reinforcing developmentally appropriate and nurturing home environments, and by providing material resources for families participating in home visitation programs.

In Hawai’i, many families struggle as low-income or unemployed in areas with high costs of living. We help families cope with many of the persistent and structural stressors of systemic poverty, by providing temporary emergency shelter, food, employment counseling, housing navigation, and parental support programs. Neighborhood Place of Puna focuses on childhood well-being because we understand the importance of childhood developmental stages. Especially for younger children, early life stressors can have life-long impacts. Some of our participants are mandated by court while others self-enroll for these support services voluntarily. By providing stable welfare services for struggling families, Neighborhood Place of Puna helps support long-term positive outcomes for Hawai’i communities. At NPP, we work very hard to ensure that families have the resources, knowledge, and skills they need to create a safe and stable environment to raise their children. We also strive to support education and welfare programs to end cycles of systemic poverty in our community.

Are you in need of free family strengthening services? Email info@neighborhoodplace.org to learn more.

You can help. Please donate to support our local families in their efforts to raise safe and healthy children.

Download the Family Outreach Referral Form

Neighborhood Place of Puna supports recovery for those affected by the recent Kilauea eruption.

Have you suffered job loss, loss of wages, home loss, increased rent, or psychological trauma due to the 2018 Kilauea eruption? Neighborhood Place of Puna is collaborating with FEMA, County of Hawai’i and other agencies to provide referrals and support to aid healing for those recently impacted by lava on the Big Island. Fill out the form below, or contact us at (808)965-5550 or disaster@neighborhoodplace.org for kokua.