Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 5, 1 Mei 2021 — Discovering Her Passion [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Discovering Her Passion

ByTammyMori \ 1 Find your passion. These three words changed the course of ] Miehelle Uemoto's life, and they eonhnue to ] motivate her every day. I Lacing a prison sentence of up to 20 years, ] Uemoto was told by the judge presiding over her case to j do some soul-searching before her sentencing hearing and to "find her passion." That' s when the seed of a dream took ; hold in Uemoto's heart. She envisioned a plaee where she ; could help women parolees and their children. Women like her. ,

Uemoto is a survivor who man- i aged to break free from a crystal meth . addition. It was a dark chapter of her i life - a time when ] she didn't have ] mueh hope. "I'm a recover- ] ing addict, 16.5 years free of crystal , meth. I eome from a good family. I don't know how I

fell off, but I did. I wanted to open up a safe plaee for parolees to get back on their feet," shared Uemoto. She opened "House of Blessings" in Mā'ili in 2015, moving into a larger space in Wahiawā. House of has space for 50 beds. The nonprofit organization assists parolees, probationers, VA veterans, houseless - anyone who needs help getting back on their feet and into the job market. Along with focusing on recovery, House of Blessings also provides job training and encourages clients to find and pursue their own passions. "I tell clients that the healing journey starts one minute, one hour, one week, one year at a time. We make individual plans for people - it's not one-size-fits-all," said Somehow, Uemoto also found time to open up a barber shop in Nānākuli called 808 Simply Laded. In addition to providing jobs to trained barbers, Uemoto uses her barber shop to provide training to parolees who demonstrated an interest in, and gifting for, cutting Reflecting on her own journey, Uemoto recalls the time father asked her, "How ean you help someone when your foundation's cracked? Until you fix your foundation, dig it all up and lay it all again, you can't help nobody." Uemoto took her father's words to heart. "I have been working on my foundation for years. And I'm so thankful to my mom and dad for standing by my

side throughout," she said. "I love what I do. It keeps me elean and sober. I have to remember and be grateful and be humhle. Every day, I'm thankful I have a passion to wake up to - and it's to help people." Uemoto is intent on maintaining a firm foundation for her life, her nonprofit and her small business. So when the SEE DISCOVERING HER PASSI0N ON PAGE 16

Miehelle Uemolo tumed her life around ond todav she runs a nonprofit and operates a smoli business. - Photos: Courtesy

Uemoto received o loan from 0HA's Mōlamo Loans program to repair the floor at her Nōnākuli borbershop( 808 Simply Faaed.

DISCOVERING HER PASSI0N Continued from page 11

foundation at 808 Simply Faded needed fixing, she reached out to OHA Mālama Loans and obtained a loan to install new flooring at the barber shop. "OHA has been wonderful. I was able to obtain a Mālama Loan when I needed it. Our floor was lifting off the ground," Uemoto remembers. "But I didn't have the best credit. I went to several different institutions and couldn't get a loan. OHA believed in me and not only was I able to obtain a $20,000 loan, their technieal solutions provider also helped me review my books and showed me how to improve my credit. Now, I have the most beautiful flooring and a solid credit score," she beamed. And she's not stopping there. Uemoto's next goal is to open up a Therapeutic Living Program (TLP) and drug treatment program. She recently obtained a permit to convert a former nursing home in Wahiawā into a 40-bed TLP and was also able to rent a home in Nānākuli to open up a 12-bed TLP. She hopes someday to be able to open TLPs in Wai'anae and Mākaha as well. "I would have never thought in a million years that this is what I would be doing. I'm thankful to Judge [Virginia] Crandall when she said 'find your passion.' I hope everyone finds their own passion. I think eaeh of us ean work on changing our mindsets, digging deep, finding our passion, and working every day to become a better person. And if everyone pays it forward, our world could be a better plaee." ■