Aloha Friends,
As we reflect on 2024, we are filled with deep gratitude for the people, partnerships, and possibilities that powered another impactful year at Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice. This report shares the progress we’ve made together — from expanding access to higher education for incarcerated women to organizing a global summit on justice innovations and continuing significant programs like our Family Law Clinic and Parole Completion Celebration. Every milestone is rooted in our shared belief in dignity, second chances, and the power of community-led solutions.
Mahalo for being part of this work. Your support and encouragement continue to inspire and sustain us.
Imua!
Leela & Lorenn
ACHIEVEMENTS & GOALS MET IN 2024
1. Women’s Prison (WCCC) Higher & Continuing Education Pilot Project
2. Huikahi Reentry Circle program
3. 2024 Justice Innovation Summit on Restorative Justice, Transformative Justice, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Victimology & Indigenous Peacemaking Practices
4. Advocacy For Reentry and Not New Jails & Prisons
5. Women’s Prison Family Law Clinic
6. Women’s Prison Running Club
7. Violet & Vivian Fund administered by the Consuelo Foundation
8. Scholarships for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women
9. Workshops, trainings, awards, and other community & international support
10. 15th annual Parole Completion Celebration February 15, 2024
P.O. Box 3654 • Honolulu • Hawai’i • 96811 • Phone: (808) 218 – 3712 www.hawaiifriends.org 11. Elementary and Secondary School Reports
12. Publications — Blog posts, one op-ed & work on other papers
13. Financial Reports
DETAILS OF 2024 ACHIEVEMENTS
1. Hawai‘i’s Women Community Correctional Center (WCCC) higher & continuing
education project:
HFRJ developed and implemented a three-year pilot program beginning 2021 that ended June 2024. HFRJ obtained a state grant to provide a four part education program in collaboration with other community partners, including the women’s prison. The four parts of the pilot were to: 1. Train incarcerated peer tutors to assist other women in passing the GED; 2. Provide funding for correspondence classes to women in prison; 3. Keep Windward Community College at the prison; and 4. Provide women with huikahi reentry planning circles to help them transition smoothly into the community and college after their release from prison. While the peer tutors, under the management of HFRJ, were extremely successful in helping women pass the GED, there was unfortunately a major fall in this success under the prison system’s management.
During the pilot HFRJ provided correspondence courses from Adams State University and a result of the program is our continued support for two imprisoned women, with long sentences, who are on track to obtain BA degrees. One of these women also completed a rigorous legal assistant program earning a certification from ASU and the other is currently a sophomore at ASU.
HFRJ, along with the Women’s Prison Project and other community-based organizations, successfully lobbied the legislature to fund prison education at WCCC, and $450K in funding was appropriated. This funding effort stemmed from HFRJ’s success in developing and delivering the WCCC pilot education project. The funds were intended specifically for WCCC to address women’s lack of support resources in Hawai‘i state prisons, which was in stark contrast to the resources available for incarcerated men. In 2023, however, leadership of the prison department decided to reallocate these funds. They were used for both men and
P.O. Box 3654 • Honolulu • Hawai’i • 96811 • Phone: (808) 218 – 3712 www.hawaiifriends.org women in prison — rather than just the women at WCCC — as the community groups had originally intended.
The pilot education program was a tremendous success for imprisoned women, with the following noteworthy achievements:
− 38 were trained as peer tutors.
− 73 women enrolled to study for the GED.
− 26 imprisoned women passed the GED while the program was managed by HFRJ
using a student-centered cooperative learning methodology.
− Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women have been supported to take college
classes.
− Windward Community College was funded to continue providing classes and
educational services for the women at WCCC.
− 39 incarcerated women took ASU college classes.
− Two women in the WCCC program succeed in becoming certified as paralegals from
the legal assistant program from ASU. One woman who was released worked for a
law firm as a paralegal (the other woman is still imprisoned). − Five cohorts of peer tutors at WCCC were trained.
Diana Bethel, PhD is our coordinator for the WCCC program. She oversaw a group of volunteers and facilitators who helped support the peer tutors. Her assistance was critical in providing the program. Unfortunately, the State Corrections Department leadership changed. Since that change, only a handful of women have passed the GED, as compared to the women who passed under HFRJ’s management.
2. Huikahi Reentry Circle program for State Prisons
The Huikahi Reentry Planning Circle process was first conceived in 2004. Since then, HFRJ has provided over 200 circles, mostly for incarcerated adults, in which over 800 individuals have participated. The process and its outcomes have been extensively evaluated, and the results are overwhelmingly successful. An independent evaluation of the process shows the circles are promising for reducing repeat crime and that they are healing for the children and other loved ones of incarcerated people.
P.O. Box 3654 • Honolulu • Hawai’i • 96811 • Phone: (808) 218 – 3712 www.hawaiifriends.org In December 2023, Civil Beat published an article about the problems with the current State Corrections Department’s lack of support for the program. Incredibly, the Department would not release funds for our effective evidence-based program, which has been replicated in other states and countries. The article, The Money is There, But This Restorative Justice Program Can’t Get It, describes how the 2022 State Legislature appropriated $200,000 to implement the program, but it was not used by the Department. We understand that the Department instead used the funds from the 2022 bill to fund a culturally-based program (ho‘oponopono), to be provided by the University of Hawai‘i West O‘ahu. We are thrilled this program was funded, but disappointed that the department did not fund the reentry program.
While HFRJ fully supports the integration of Hawaiian practices in prisons, schools, courts, and other systems, it is deeply concerned that the Department diverted funds for purposes that clearly deviated from the intent of the bill passed by the legislature. Even more alarming is that this marks the second time the legislature passed a bill appropriating funds (page 26) for the reentry circle process, which the State Corrections Department failed to implement.
In response, HFRJ applied for and received a legislatively funded Grant In Aid (GIA), securing $120K to train community members. With this grant, we are collaborating with WorkNet, Inc., a long-time prison service provider, to deliver the program. After July, WorkNet will take over providing the circles for incarcerated individuals. Currently, eight regular trainees are participating in the facilitator training, which runs from October 2024 through February 2025. Sessions occur weekly via Zoom, either in-person or asynchronously, with a focus on the solution-focused approach. We’ve had three master therapists share their expertise on this methodology. From February to May 2025, we’ll transition to hands-on training to teach the circle methodology.
3. Justice Innovation Summit on Restorative Justice, Transformative Justice, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Victimology & Indigenous Peacemaking Practices
HFRJ organized a major international summit, hosted at UH Mānoa from February 16-19, 2024, that attracted over 300 attendees. The summit brought together Indigenous people from various continents — including Africa, Nepal, Australia, Aotearoa, and Europe —
P.O. Box 3654 • Honolulu • Hawai’i • 96811 • Phone: (808) 218 – 3712 www.hawaiifriends.org alongside North American justice innovation providers. HFRJ worked diligently to secure the necessary funding to cover airfare and housing at UH for the guests.
Three months before the event, we coordinated with attendees, organizing them into groups to share their expertise. A total of 22 different groups were formed, with individuals encouraged to meet and exchange knowledge ahead of time. We referred to the summit presenters as nā hōkū, meaning guides or navigators in Hawaiian. Each group focused on a wide range of topics, including Indigenous peacemaking practices, gender violence, environmental protection, school programs, reentry processes, metaphors, emotions and language in restorative justice, and more.
The summit was independently evaluated and found successful. Following the event, we’ve received inquiries from individuals and a major university on the East Coast about hosting the next summit in 2027, which we hope to do.
4. New O‘ahu Jail
Governor Green and the Corrections Department director are strongly promoting the state’s plans for a billion-dollar new OCCC. They have even hired public relation teams.
The Reimagining Public Safety Coalition is strongly against the construction of a new jail/prison. HFRJ has joined the Coalition, which will release a budget document in February that advocates for investments in diversion instead of building a new jail.
HFRJ’s op-ed challenging the state’s proposal to spend $1.2 billion on a new jail was published (see attached) and the next week Tommy Johnson, Director of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, wrote a response (attached). Johnson claims that for “generations” Hawai’i has had a non-punitive prison system, and that those who are incarcerated at OCCC mostly suffer “difficulties,” that they made bad “choices,” and that their time in jail can be a good thing because it can be a “turning point” in their lives with the assistance of a team of professionals. Johnson specifically claims that:
Many of the inmates come to us [OCCC] [are sic] burdened by difficult circumstances and wrong choices. We help them accept responsibility for their situation and realize their time with us can be a turning point in their lives. Our team of adult corrections officers, social workers, nurses, counselors, and other
P.O. Box 3654 • Honolulu • Hawai’i • 96811 • Phone: (808) 218 – 3712 www.hawaiifriends.org professionals create the most conducive environment to grow personally and professionally.
At least two credible sources who have studied Hawai‘i’s corrections system, Professor Justin Levinson of the UH Richardson School of Law, and Professor Robert Perkinson of the UH College of Social Sciences, disagree with Johnson’s claims.
5. Women’s Prison Family Law Clinic
The program is provided largely pro bono and has been funded by the Hawai‘i State Bar Foundation (HSBF). The clinic started in 2011 and provides 80 – 100 incarcerated women with family law assistance. We will continue to provide this program.
6. Women’s Prison Gym & Running Clinic/Club
The Women’s Prison Project, spearheaded by Governor Linda Lingle, raised $140,300 for gym equipment, flooring, and storage spaces in two rooms at the women’s prison. HFRJ also started a weekly running club at the prison, attended by around 12 women who come to run for an hour. Lorenn Walker earned American Council on Exercise group fitness instructor and Road Runners Club of America running coach level one certification to provide the program. We are currently trying to get running shoes all of the women, as some have been running in rubber slippers or with bare feet.
7. Violet & Vivian Fund administered by the Consuelo Foundation.
Funded by Patti Lyons — HFRJ was able to help three women in 2024 who were or are currently incarcerated. We applied for support to help them with rent, dentures, and a laptop for college. Three more women at WCCC have asked for help with dentures, and we’re working to support them.
8. Scholarships for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women
● HFRJ distributed $4,000 in college scholarships to four previously incarcerated women after they completed the Spring 2024 semester.
● In the Winter of 2024, HFRJ provided $1,000 scholarships to five women for a total of $5,000.
● A woman released from WCCC who owed the UH system for previous student costs
P.O. Box 3654 • Honolulu • Hawai’i • 96811 • Phone: (808) 218 – 3712 www.hawaiifriends.org needed at least $210 so she could register for Windward Community College. HFRJ paid the outstanding fee of $210 for her.
9. Workshops, trainings, awards and other community & international support included:
● HFRJ was honored with Ho‘omenemene Samaritian Counseling Center Award for “design[ing] and research[ing] innovative pilot projects in school, corrections and community settings. They provide evidence-based education and training to help individuals and organizations live cooperatively and peacefully.” Leela and Lorenn accepted the award at the Waikiki Yacht Club.
● The Legal Service Provider Pro Bono HFRJ Volunteer Award was given to Nancy Youngren, who assisted HFRJ with our education project at the women’s prison. The award was given at an event held at Ali‘iolani Hale
● On February 15th 2024 Cheri Tarutani and Lorenn Walker presented at the Hawai‘i Forgiveness Conference. They shared how restorative justice can be the vehicle for apology, which can lead to forgiveness. Participants were invited to use the www.apologyletter.org program that Ben Furman, MD, a psychiatrist in Finland, and a long-time HFRJ partner developed with Lorenn. The website has now been translated into 10 languages including Arabic, Hebrew, and Portuguese.
● On March 7, 2024 Lorenn Walker interviewed Professor Hirofumi Kato at Hokkaido University in Japan about his work for the Centre for Ainu and Indigenous Studies. The Ainu people are indigenous to Hokkaido and had a remarkably sustainable ecological system until they were colonized. The video of the interview is posted on our website.
● In early May 2024 Lorenn was invited and sponsored to present on our reentry circle work at an environmental justice conference in Campo Grande near the Pantanal rainforest region of Brazil. Our work was well received, and Lorenn gathered valuable information about Indigenous people’s environmental justice work and Canada’s Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) process for people convicted of sex offenses at the conference.
10. 15th annual Parole Completion Celebration February 15, 2024
Hawai‘i Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald attended along with our first
P.O. Box 3654 • Honolulu • Hawai’i • 96811 • Phone: (808) 218 – 3712 www.hawaiifriends.org legislator, Representative David Tarnas, and federal court judges from our district. Other notable attendees were in town attending the Justice Innovations Summit and included federal court judges from Brazil, other judges from Egypt, Germany, and from Indigenous North American groups along with many more amazing international guests. About 70 attended the celebration in 2024.
11. Elementary and Secondary School Project report
We are currently working on a much-needed anti-vaping program. Children as young as second grade have brought vapes to school. We also are filing for a 2025 State GIA to do a restorative justice program for two Honolulu public schools, to increase literacy and attendance and decrease teacher referrals for disruptive behavior.
12. Publications 2024 — Blog posts, one op-ed & work on other papers
13. May 15, 2024 Restorative Practices International blog, about the parole completion celebration for justice organization;
• HFRJ description in the Hawai‘i Public Health Association’s 2024 Spring Newsletter;
• Dec 22, 2024 for HFRJ by Ian Crabbe, Roger Epstein, and Leela Bilmes Goldstein. “Invest in Real Reforms, Not $1.2B New Jail: Honolulu Star.” Star Advertiser. The editorial criticizes the rising cost of the jail construction and points out that effective rehabilitation relies on the quality of services, not new infrastructure. It also argues against partnering with private companies for the project, prioritizing profits over public welfare. The authors advocate for alternatives like education, mental health treatment, substance abuse programs, restorative justice initiatives, and bail reform. These measures, they argue, would more effectively address systemic issues and reduce crime in Hawai‘i.
• Two articles were also finalized for a restorative justice international encyclopedia expected to be published in 2026.
GOALS FOR 2025
1. Work with Hawai‘i public schools in creating “whole restorative schools.”
2. Transfer huikahi reentry circle program for state prisons to WorkNet, Inc.
3. Do a project with the Hawai‘i Federal Court.
4. Provide 16 th Annual Parole Completion Celebration.
P.O. Box 3654 • Honolulu • Hawai’i • 96811 • Phone: (808) 218 – 3712 www.hawaiifriends.org 5. Continue the Family Law Clinic at the women’s prison.
6. Provide financial scholarships to formerly incarcerated women who successfully complete a semester of college earning at least nine credits.
7. Finish a paper on the higher and continuing education project at the women’s prison.
8. Research paper on the school to prison pipeline problem in Hawai‘i.
2024 EXPENDITURES AND REVENUE Revenue – $328,720 Expenditures – $443,916
Respectfully submitted:
Lorenn Walker Volunteer Executive Director, Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice
P.O. Box 3654 • Honolulu • Hawai’i • 96811 • Phone: (808) 218 – 3712 www.hawaiifriends.or