Kailana Program.

An Ocean-Oriented Experiential Treatment & Education Program

The Kailana (calm seas) Program is a highly-structured, staff-secure, residential program for high risk Hawai`i adolescents needing comprehensive treatment and education, including mental health services. Kailana, run by the non-profit Marimed Foundation, combines individual, group and family therapy with educational and vocational services, ocean and land-based therapeutic and recreational activities including sailing and ocean voyaging on Makani Olu (Marimed’s sail training vessel), canoe paddling, agriculture, aquaculture, and culinary opportunities

Kailana is unique in its ocean-experiential approach to serving youth with moderate to severe emotional and behavioral problems. Our program incorporates the core values of CHART (Community, Honesty, Aloha, Respect and Teamwork) to help our youth and their families make the often stormy passage through adolescence. The program takes advantage of the importance of the ocean to Hawai`i and Pacific Island people, historically and culturally. The appeal of the ocean to youth helps builds life skills through challenges and experiences that are powerful and transformational.

The Kailana Program helps adolescents in their personal development, family and community relationships, and in their successful return to home, school or appropriate community alternative.

We Serve

Males, 14 through 18, who face difficult emotional and educational challenges requiring something more structured and restrictive than school or home-based services, but who do not need to be hospitalized or incarcerated. This program specializes in adolescent males with conduct disorders and those dually diagnosed with chemical dependency.

Enrollment

All youth enrolled in the program are referred directly by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division of the State Health Department. Many youth are involved with the Family Court, the Office of Youth Services, or the Department of Education special education. For enrollment questions or assistance contact Mike Moskal, Program Intake Coordinator at (808) 236-2288 ext. 238.

Program Facilities

Youth in the residential program live in small Windward O`ahu group homes licensed as Special Treatment Facilities. All youth, called “Cadets,” begin at an Intake House for 30-40 days for assessment and introduction to program structure and expectations. They then move to one of two Voyaging Houses, where they prepare for a series of 5-day voyages to the neighbor islands as working crew on Marimed’s Coast Guard certified Sail Training Vessel or our Hawaiian sailing canoe.

Education

While living in the Voyaging Houses, cadets commute daily to Marimed’s oceanfront main campus on Kaneohe Bay Drive. School for Voyaging House cadets is provided in the Education Building on the main campus. Here students follow an intensive IEP (Individual Education Plan) tailored to their specific needs and circumstances. School for Intake House cadets is provided on the facility’s 6.5 acre self contained campus. Youth can earn up to one credit per month. Cadets also participate in service learning projects while they are receiving vocational and life skills training, to help them reconnect with their community.

Program Staff

Kailana program staff and counseling treatment members include a child and adolescent psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist , social workers, CSAC certified counselors, teachers (including a certified special education teacher), nursing staff, youth counselors, and a ship’s crew of licensed marine professionals and experiential facilitators

Experiential Activities

In addition to the Sail Training Vessel, Makani Olu, Kailana therapeutic experiential activities include the use of a variety of small sailing crafts, three Hawaiian six man paddling canoes, 10 lo`i, a low ropes course, and a Hawaiian sailing canoe.

For more information on Experiential Learning, click HERE.

Can You Help??

Please visit our Donations Page to see if you can help us maintain our Kailana Program for the benefit of our community and the youth we serve.

Mahalo.