The concept of peer support is paramount in the Network, which brings together a group of people who have shared experiences so they can tap into each other and stimulate resilience, personal growth, recovery, and well-being. What ties trauma-informed practice and financial empowerment components is the concept of SELF – Safety, Emotional management, Loss and letting go, and developing a sense of Future. Through the 16-session Financial SELF Empowerment curriculum, a SELF empowerment coach and a financial empowerment coach guide group discussion related to finances, employment, family, and community. 

In addition to learning money management techniques and problem-solving skills, Network members also share their knowledge, experience, and support with each other. They share information and opportunities, such as a diaper bank or a job fair that is occurring. There is also an asset-building component to the program: members save money each month towards their individual life goals, and their savings are matched $1:$1, which helps them build a nest egg for investment faster than they otherwise could. The matching funds come from grant funding. 

Addressing and healing individuals’ trauma is where the safety, emotions, and loss parts come in, and goal setting and building new financial opportunities is where the future is born. “People who have experienced trauma can have a hard time creating individual goals and being able to stick to them, or even to thinking that they have a future. The savings account is a future-oriented type of experience, and it's experiential, where people can start to invest in their future,” says Dr. Mariana Chilton, the Network’s founder. At the start of each cohort, they set group goals for saving and track their collective progress towards those goals, so everyone is invested in the group’s success. 

Local TANF offices refer potential participants to the Network program and their participation in the group sessions count towards their TANF work requirement. Participants are referred to as members and remain members of the Network even after they complete the sessions. The program hosts quarterly meetings of its Network member advisory council with members who have completed the program, who advise on programming changes, marketing and recruitment, and expansion.

Hawaii DHS is continuing to implement 'Ohana Nui through a collaborative effort of the Governor, Legislature, multiple state agencies, and community-based service providers.  A Family Assessment Center (FAC) was created to address homelessness for families with children.  The FAC assesses families initially for housing instability and concurrently, addresses the other 'Ohana Nui self-sufficiency categories. The goal of the FAC was to move families from homelessness into semi-permanent or permanent housing within 90 days and with wrap-around supportive services.  The pilot project has been very successful and in February 2019, the FAC was duplicated on Oahu’s Waianae Coast.  The Villages of Maili (VOM) has three service components: (1) Family Assessment Center, (2) Individual Assessment Center, and (3) Bridge housing for households with a Permanent Supportive Housing voucher awaiting placement into permanent housing. In the near future, DHS will open another FAC in Puna on Hawaii Island.  

DHS is also developing a statewide human services IT system that will provide greater access to families and individuals in need of support, effectively creating a no-wrong-door or one-stop-shop entry point for application and determination of eligibility of benefits. The 'Ohana Nui Engineers, who were hand-selected as internal change agents, have been instrumental in creating the foundation for `Ohana Nui by breaking down silos within the department, opening communication pathways, and encouraging connectedness among and between programs and divisions as well as across departments and into the community. 

Hawaii DHS has also convened several community conversations to develop and enhance partnerships to ensure a statewide application of the whole-family principle. Non-profit provider partners will also assist by creating and implementing 'Ohana Nui programs to help streamline services between organizations, simplify the benefits delivery process for families, and ensure the most efficient use of human services resources. Hawaii DHS also engages for-profit partners to support these clients, such as banks who provide financial literacy services and instruction on how money works, and lines of credit. 

Moving forward with 'Ohana Nui, Hawaii DHS will focus on client engagement in shaping the rollout of the IT system and processes to families - metrics to determine effectiveness of 'Ohana Nui - and will draw from lessons learned. Committed to seeing the people of Hawaii thrive, DHS is taking additional measures to ensure the sustainability of this philosophy in the way the department fulfills its mission of meeting families where they dream through `Ohana Nui, the Aloha Spirit, and the DHS strategic plan.