HIPPY:  Our first generation of success

By JoAnn Freed, Executive Director jfreed@fsswh.org

This year Family Support Services of West Hawaii celebrated the high school graduation of our very first HIPPY child—Shannel Ramirez—who entered as a 4 year-old in 1996.  Shannel will be attending the University of Hawaii, Manoa Campus this fall.  She has been a great supporter of our HIPPY program over the years, attending and helping with the graduations of more than 1,000 five-year-olds from FSSWH’s HIPPY programs on the islands of Hawaii, Oahu and Molokai.

Shannel’s mom Shannon (seen at right with daughter Melina who graduated from HIPPY in 2005) became Hawaii’s first HIPPY Home Visitor in 1996, and since that time has gone on to complete her degree and become FSSWH’s HIPPY Coordinator.  She is also the Hawaii Site Director for the partnership between Americorps and HIPPY USA.  This collaboration allows our HIPPY Home Visitors (themselves parents in the program) to earn educational stipends for the community service work they perform during the year.  Many have used their education stipends to complete their college degrees in Early Childhood Ed,, Hawaiian Studies and Human Services.  We have seen many move into jobs in the teaching profession as a result of their HIPPY experience. 

The Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program works to increase parents' knowledge of and confidence in child-rearing activities, to strengthen partnerships between parents and professionals and to enhance the developmental progress of the children assisted under the program.  Outreach strategies and services are designed to emphasize local priorities and conditions and overcome the traditional barriers to participation in school readiness activities.  They encompass a rich variety of practices including parent-to-parent training activities, book and toy lending libraries, support groups, playgroups, and information and referral networks.  Most importantly, the program provides support to families with preschool children through the internationally acclaimed 30 week curriculum used in HIPPY.  These strategies promote family strengthening in many ways, leading to improved inter and intra family communications, enhanced coping and problem-solving skills, increased readiness for school success and, as we have witnessed, an increased sense of appreciation for both the family members and the school community in which the family lives. 

We have had the opportunity over the years to witness many, many success stories like the Ramirez’, and we hope we will see even more over the next generation of services.