Takeaways from our collaboration on youth mental health after the Maui wildfires

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Ever since wildfires destroyed Lahaina two years ago, hundreds of students have struggled mentally — and not all have received the help they need.

The Hawaii Department of Education estimates more than a third of Maui students lost a family member, sustained a serious injury or had a parent lose a job after the fires, which killed 102 people and damaged more than 3,300 properties in Lahaina.

Two years later, many in Lahaina are ready to return to normal. But therapists say students’ mental health challenges continue to mount.

The Associated Press is collaborating with Honolulu Civil Beat, CalMatters, Blue Ridge Public Radio, and Centro de Periodismo Investigativo in Puerto Rico to examine how school communities are recovering from the disruption of natural disasters. Here are key takeaways.

2 years in, kids are still struggling

While kids may feel numb immediately following a disaster, after two years, they’re facing the toll of constant uncertainty and change, said Christopher Knightsbridge, one of several researchers at the University of Hawaii who has studied the well-being of Lahaina fire survivors. Adrenaline has worn off, and stress remains high,

But a couple years after the disaster, schools are not always prepared with extra mental health supports.

On Maui, the island is dealing with an ongoing shortage of specialists. In the past few years, the number of psychiatrists serving youth has dropped from four to two, even as demand has grown.

“The crisis isn’t over,” Knightsbridge said.

Kids in Lahaina say their anxiety is triggered by strong winds, brush fires or the smell of smoke. In a University of Hawaii study of fire survivors conducted in 2024, just over half of children reported symptoms of depression, and 30% were likely facing an anxiety disorder. Nearly half of kids in the study, ages 10 to 17, were experiencing PTSD.

It’s affecting kids in school. In a state survey of Maui students in the first year after the fires, roughly half of kids said they were having trouble focusing in class or felt upset when they were reminded of the wildfires.

Hiring full-time mental health staff in Maui is difficult

Even before the fires, Maui faced a shortage of mental health professionals because they struggled with the state’s high cost of living and housing shortage.

The fires brought burnout and greater economic obstacles, only exacerbating the issue. Since then, Hawaii’s education department has tried to bulk up Maui’s mental health staff by bringing in providers from neighbor islands and the mainland and, more recently, using a $2 million federal grant to support students.

But hiring mental health staff has been so difficult that even the federal money hasn’t made much of a dent. In the first nine months of the grant, the state education department primarily used the money to bus displaced students from other parts of the island to Lahaina schools.

The state has used the money to hire five part-time mental health providers working with students and staff, including one specialist who works in the evenings with students living as boarders on Lahainaluna’s campus, said Kimberly Lessard, a Department of Education district specialist.

Two of the six behavioral health specialist positions in Lahaina schools remained unfilled this summer, as they have been for years due to Maui’s housing shortage and high cost of living, Lessard said.

Adventure providers and peer counselors are stepping up

Some nonprofits and therapists have turned to outdoor activities to reach kids who have balked at discussing their mental health since the fires.

Twenty-five years ago, Loren Lapow founded the Maui Hero Project, which his website describes as “adventure-based counseling services.” The eight-week program teaches teens basic disaster preparedness skills and immerses them in outdoor activities such as paddleboarding. It’s also a form of mental health support, which Lapow has leaned into since the wildfires.

Amid the fun, Lapow directs the teens to reflect on their fears and losses. He asks them how they feel when they smell smoke or think about Lahaina’s famed Front Street, most of which was destroyed in the blaze.

“Places are like a friend to us,” Lapow told teens one June afternoon. “When you lose places, it hurts.”

There’s a strong stigma around seeking mental health services, particularly in Filipino and Latino communities that make up a large portion of Lahaina’s population, said Ruben Juarez, a professor at University of Hawaii who led the research study on fire survivors.

The state is hoping struggling students will open up to their peers. A new program called YouthLine aims to train Hawaii teens to respond to crisis calls.

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