OVERVIEW

The KUPAʻA Project is a comprehensive initiative dedicated to uplifting the mental health, resilience, and cultural pride of LGBTQIA+ and māhū youth. Rooted in Native Hawaiian (Kanaka ʻŌiwi) values and practices, this project recognizes that healing and wellbeing emerge not only from clinical care, but also from community, culture, and shared responsibility for one another’s wellness.

At its core, the KUPAʻA Project responds to the urgent need for safe, affirming, and culturally grounded spaces for LGBTQIA+ youth who continue to face heightened risks of depression, anxiety, bullying, discrimination, and suicidal ideation. For many, these challenges are compounded by systemic inequalities, colonial legacies, and cultural erasure. By honoring the histories and lived experiences of māhū and LGBTQIA+ youth, the project creates a supportive pathway toward resilience, pride, and collective healing.

Through a multi-layered approach—including community outreach campaigns, peer-led educational workshops, monthly support gatherings, and navigation to additional Kumukahi Health & Wellness (KHW) services—the project cultivates mental health literacy, reduces stigma, and fosters help-seeking behaviors. Collaboration with schools, community organizations, and mental health professionals ensures that youth have access to resources that are not only competent, but culturally responsive and affirming of their identities.

 

PURPOSE

The purpose of the KUPAʻA Project is to strengthen the wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ and māhū youth by:

• Providing essential tools and knowledge to understand and navigate mental health challenges.

• Creating affirming spaces where youth can explore identity with pride, free from stigma.

• Promoting peer-to-peer support rooted in aloha (compassion), kuleana (responsibility), and pilina (relationship).

• Honoring cultural practices such as oli (chant), moʻolelo (storytelling), and mālama ʻāina (care for the land) as healing pathways.

• Preventing suicide by reducing isolation and normalizing open, supportive conversations around identity and mental health.

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OUTCOMES

The project is structured around the guiding pillars of Knowledge, Understanding, Pride, Awareness, and Action, which together represent a holistic approach to wellness:
 

Knowledge – LGBTQIA+ and māhū youth and their allies gain tools to recognize mental health challenges, identify warning signs, and know how and where to seek support.

Understanding – Participants deepen awareness of themselves, their histories, and the systemic forces that shape their mental health journeys.

Pride – By reclaiming cultural narratives of māhū and embracing diverse gender and sexual identities, the project fosters inclusion, openness, and collective dignity.

Awareness – Youth strengthen emotional literacy and self-reflection, cultivating skills to notice both inner feelings and external pressures.

Action – Participants practice advocacy, peer support, and help-seeking, building resilience and community networks that continue beyond the program.

 

A VISION OF HEALING & BELONGING

Ultimately, the KUPAʻA Project envisions a future where LGBTQIA+ and māhū youth no longer feel isolated, but instead stand firmly rooted in identity, culture, and community. Guided by the wisdom of kūpuna (elders) and the strength of pilina (relationships), this initiative weaves together modern mental health tools with ancestral practices to affirm that every young person is seen, valued, and essential.

In the spirit of its name, KUPAʻA—to be steadfast, grounded, and resolute—the project commits to creating spaces where LGBTQIA+ and māhū youth can thrive, embodying resilience for themselves and for future generations.