In this episode of Community in Conversation, Neighborhood Place of Puna Executive Director Billi-Jo Pike sits down with ordained minister and community partner Jenica Lawrence for a thoughtful and honest dialogue about the power of collaboration between nonprofits and communities of faith.

Together, they explore what’s possible when organizations move beyond working in parallel and instead align around a shared vision for community well-being. Jenica shares insights from her journey in ministry, foster care, and family life, offering a deeply relational perspective on service, empathy, and generational impact.

This conversation dives into:

• What true alignment between nonprofits and faith communities could look like in Puna
• The shared values that already connect this work—dignity, relationships, justice, and hope
• The importance of trust, humility, and learning from what already exists in the community
• Why honest conversations about power, history, and harm are essential for meaningful partnership
• How to stay accountable to the community—not just institutions or outcomes

A central theme of this episode is the importance of cultural grounding. In Puna, accountability goes beyond metrics. It means aligning with the values, history, and lived experiences of this place and its people. Jenica speaks to the responsibility of both nonprofits and faith communities to move away from importing outside models that may not fit, and instead co-create solutions that are rooted in Hawaiʻi’s unique cultural context.

This includes trusting community members not just to participate, but to lead, to help shape programs, guide decisions, and define what success truly looks like. It requires humility, a willingness to share power, and a commitment to honoring values like mālama ʻāina and kuleana. Because lasting impact doesn’t come from imposing systems—it comes from relationships, trust, and allowing the community’s culture to shape the work, not just decorate it.

The episode also offers encouragement for the next generation to take action, start small, and lead with love.

“Go where trust already lives—and be willing to follow it.”

In this first episode of Community in Conversation, Neighborhood Place of Puna Executive Director Billi-Jo Pike sits down with Anchor Point Youth Center Program Coordinator Minnie Cain to reflect on the powerful first year of Anchor Point Youth Center — Hawaiʻi County’s first drop-in center specifically designed for homeless and at-risk youth.

Together, they share the story behind why Anchor Point was created, what they expected when the doors opened, and what surprised them most.

From youth coming in for their “firsts” — first emergencies, first job interviews, first leases — to the quiet, everyday moments of trust and laughter, this conversation explores what it really means to create a space rooted in safety, consistency, and radical acceptance.