Page 5 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Jan 11, 2023

JANUARY 11, 2023 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 5
The Aloha Spirit Is Alive And Well At VASH
TFROM PAGE 4
echnically, VASH is
term assistance. In reality, Rich spends a lot of time with those in crisis far from home, and she checks
portant part of her network are VASH’s 20 or so volun- teers, who have gone through background screening and training. Most help visi- tors resolve frustrating but non-critical situations over the phone. Some help around the office. At least one makes flower arrangements for vis- itors in the hospital and for VASH fundraisers.
needs to be done, in addition to her extreme commitment to aloha.
here to supply short-
on them after they leave. “There was no indication that it was, ‘OK, you’re done, we’ re out of here,’ ” says island visitor Bruce Wiley. “It was always very clear she was going to keep
“That combination is the key to bringing about a fair- ly positive ending to a tragic situation.”
in touch.”
Wiley, a retired San Jose,
Rich takes pride in knowing most have been with VASH for years.
Gentry, who was mayor of Laguna Beach, California, in the 1980s and 1990s before moving to Hawai‘i, is no stranger to crises. He’s dealt with wildfires, floods and public health scares. Looking back, he says he didn’t have a VASH then — but he could have used one.
California, police sergeant, was vacationing in Hawai‘i with his wife, Lynn, in De- cember 2021. The couple had been married for nearly 47 years, raised two daugh- ters and a granddaughter — and now they’d been to every state. They were planning to spend a week on Maui and a week on O‘ahu.
Jessica Lani Rich (left) and guest Eric Crispin, dean of Consular Corps of Hawai‘i, on the set of Inspire You & Me, a local television show hosted and produced by Rich. PHOTO COURTESY JESSICA LANI RICH
Gentry — who stayed with her until 2:30 a.m. during the active shooter episode — says, “One of the reasons I’ve stayed as long as I have is be- cause of Jessica’s professional level of understanding of what
To learn more about vol- unteering for or otherwise supporting VASH, go online to visitoralohasocietyofha- waii.org.
rience) that you’ ll ever know the feeling of total helpless- ness I felt,” Wiley says.
“Finding somebody I could turn to to help me was a true blessing,” he says. “(She) took a miserable ex- perience and made it bear- able. In a place where I was as alone as I could possibly be, I found I wasn’t alone.”
eymoon in El Salvador and she remembers the shock and stress of communicating with unfamiliar officials to find out what happened and how to bring his body home.
In addition to leading VASH, Rich hosts and produces the television show Inspire You & Me (9:30 p.m. Saturdays on KFVE).
She has a communications degree (minor in broadcast journalism) from San Francis- co State University and had always wanted to create a show highlighting the folks who uplift Hawai‘i. While much of her life is fo- cused on visitors, she says spreading joy in her own community reminds her that while bad things happen sometimes, there’s still a lot of good to be celebrated.
Inspire You & Me has produced 300-plus stories featuring more than 100 nonprofits since 2016.
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“Jessica knows she (couldn’t) fix it,” he says of her support. “She just solves whatever problems she can to make it easier, to make it smoother. And that’s a bril- liant talent.”
As for her network, she has contacts in hotels, police de- partments, local businesses, consulates and other nonprof- it organizations.
But Lynn didn’t make it to O‘ahu. She collapsed sud- denly at their condo in Maui. Wiley called 911 and admin-
As a law enforcement of- ficer, he was used to getting others through crises. But far from close friends and fami- ly, he felt lost.
So, she really can relate to how visitors in distress may be feeling. But helping them required training.
ndistered CPR until paramed-
He sought out Rich be- cause he’ d heard how she’ d helped when a fellow police officer drowned while on va- cation in Waikīkī. Months af- ter that tragedy, the officer’s family remained grateful to VASH — and that left an im- pression.
Today, Wiley is part of the Monterey County, Califor- nia, Cold Case Task Force. He has a home in Idaho, warm memories of his late wife, a new life partner and, despite the tragedy he expe- rienced, he says he would consider another trip to Ha- wai‘i — because of VASH.
To that end, she’s a former Stephen’s minister — Ste- phen’s Ministry is a non-de- nominational Christian pro- gram that teaches people to care for those experiencing grief or loss. She’s also trained by the Critical In- cident Stress Foundation, which works with law en- forcement and other first re- sponders.
enics arrived, but she was pro- hernounced dead at the scene.
en “There is no way, despite ns,your intellect and your edu- incation and (your work expe-
Jessica Lani Rich (left) and longtime VASH volunteer Robert Gentry at a volunteer recruitment event hosted by Rotary Club of Honolulu. PHOTO COURTESY VASH
Her own father died unex- pectedly while on his hon-
But perhaps the most im-
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network of contacts.
hat talent is a result of experience, train- ing and an extensive
“We’re a team,” she says. “I can reach out to them and my goal is letting (visitors) know... they’ re not going to be alone through this.”
A former news and public service director at KUMU Radio, she’s been with VASH for more than 20 years, starting as a volunteer.
She’s also the Pacific re- gion representative for Trav- elers Aid International.
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