Kauaʻi needs to stop failing its young women

July 25, 2023 in travel

I was driving down the road and saw a girl trying to handle a suitcase, backpack and a small duffel bag. It was about 5:30 p.m. The sky was darkening and it was starting to rain again.

I turned to my mom and said, “What is this young girl doing? We need to pick her up.” So my mom jumped in the back seat and the girl stepped in, packing her pink suitcase, black bag and school backpack into the front passenger space. “Family troubles,” she said.

She was crying so much she could barely tell us her name. My mom and I both said it was going to be ok. that she needs to care for herself first, and that it’s smart to go to a safe place.

Choking back her tears, she told us part of the story.

She’s just turned 18. Her parents made her drop out of school last year so she could work and take care of her three siblings, ages 6, 7, and 8. Her parents are at home, probably not working. They swear at her. She was enrolled in a GED class but her parents took her out of it so that she could babysit. She can’t discipline them because she’ll be disciplined herself. At age 10, her brother went to jail and she became the babysitter because he was gone. 4 years later she started working her first job. She still has an on-call job at a tourist activity rental business.

My mom encouraged her to pass the GED so she can move forward with her life.

We dropped her off at the low-income housing complex where she could stay with relatives.

I do not believe this story is that uncommon. Wish I could help more.