Aloha Alive: The Dawn O'Brien Podcast
Why Aloha? the whole world knows what aloha is--love in Hawai'i--but better to ask WHY ALOHA? the answer is as essential as breath & as fun as whistling, so LET'S GO!
Aloha Alive: The Dawn O'Brien Podcast
Ep. 11: From Menace to Miracle-Maker ~ To The Top Hawai'i
A child victim to violent vigilante to Victorious SuperHero! It's not a plot of a Hollywood blockbuster it's the story of Jesse Jones, Founder, To The Top Hawaii. Along with his fiery-&-fine bride, Ashlee, we see two ordinary people creating extraordinary change for Hawaii's houseless population. BOOMkaAloha!
What's In It For You? EASY! A chance to HERO UP with easy, entry-level knowledge, parthers & inspiration. They're working-class HI residents who hold down jobs while dedicating personal time & resources to saving 'ohana one meal & one story at a time. "Be the aloha you wish to see in the world," says Jesse. Not just when aloha is easy, but when it's the hard in hostile situations--and too many of us are facing a lot of that nowadays...
Ready to become an Aloha Advocate? Jesse+Ashlee show us it's not the grand gestures but simply making eye contact & saying hello, with genuine aloha. Follow their journey on Instagram @tothetophawaii & discover how you can join their SuperHero & SuperShero Team ALOHA!
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Aloha, welcome to Aloha Alive. I'm Auntie Dawn and I'm stoked to be here with these two people that I consider family already. If you're from the state of Hawaii, or even if you're not, we have something called hanai, which means we adopt into the family. It's super, very natural part of the ohana or family in Hawaii, and so today I hanai'd these two kids and they're adult kids.
Speaker 1:I want to welcome you to Jesse and his wife, ashley Jones. They're with a local organization in Hawaii called To the Top Hawaii, and the thing that you guys do that is amazing is you're just a regular, everyday, local couple in the state of Hawaii and they've got a great story. But let me get to the bottom line. They walk out there and they help with houselessness, like you're just two working people in the state of Hawaii with a kid, but you take donations. Walk out there. Welcome to Aloha Live. Thank you for being Aloha advocates. You guys rock really, really hard. Now tell us on your own words. I know I just introduced it, but what is To the Top Hawaii? How did it get started?
Speaker 2:To the Top. Hawaii was just, um, it was a playoff of my, just my instagram name from when I was younger, which was to the top, my friend, and then, um, I don't know, we just broke it off to to the top boy, which was something that we could have used toward, um, helping others who are going through struggle. Um, so for us, for me, in my head, I'm like I'm going through so much crap already, but there's always somebody out there going through something worse and to be able to, I guess, meet them at that point, you're always in a position to help somebody yeah, and it doesn't always have to be a financial thing, it could just be hi, how are you doing?
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. I hope you have a good day and that can alter someone's entire day just by you recognizing, connecting to that person.
Speaker 1:That's good.
Speaker 2:That's to the top of Hawaii. We use this slogan a lot. There are infinite ways to the top. I don't ever want to say one way is the tried and true way for someone to reach their level of success. So that might be for somebody on the streets that might be making sure that they get a meal for their family. For somebody else that might be a job promotion. For us. Our goal is to end houselessness, at the very least decrease it.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. Your goal is to end houselessness. Hawaii is recorded recently in statistics as having one of the highest levels of houselessness in the nation, and I've even heard and seen you address the issue of uh. You know, we hear about and I helped with a political campaign in 2014, where we recognize that they were sending people here on a one-way ticket. What was your response to that? Because I loved your response to that.
Speaker 2:It doesn't matter where you're from. You're going through something. You know. Who am I to close the door on your face?
Speaker 1:Come on.
Speaker 2:We recently just helped somebody who was here from the mainland get back home to his family. I haven't even put it online or anything. That was just between me and this gentleman and he's not able to take himself even to the airport.
Speaker 1:Wow, I had to escort him.
Speaker 2:I was like, can you guys please let me walk into the gate Like wheelchair so to get him and get him to the gate and for him to stand up and hug me and be like thank you, I couldn't have done this without you. You know, that's why we do it. So I love this guy.
Speaker 1:Jesse, thank you, thank you both. You know it's, it's those things that we live for, right, because the work that you do, jesse and Ashley, it's I call it mission impossible. Most of us, uh, wouldn't even look a homeless person or a houseless person in the eye. To be honest, like I, I prayer, walk the city a lot on weekends and there's a lot of houseless people here, and one day I felt really in my heart, convicted Like all I heard was you can't even say hi, you can't even make eye contact with that sister or that brother. Don, you can do better than this.
Speaker 1:And you know one of the life verses I live by Jesse, and that when I was watching your story and watching you as a young person online, because you guys do use a lot of social media almost as a weapon, as you said recently, but I see a lot of the actions and I was so inspired in my life verse. One of them is Romans 12, 21, which says do not be overcome by evil, but overcome the evil by doing good. Not by being perfect, not by being a professional committee member On a state or a national campaign Against houselessness, not by having years of experience. It's just do good here today. And so when you dropped off that gentleman and he was able to stand up from his wheelchair, those are the moments that really, they're capstone moments.
Speaker 1:They're the top of the Mauna Right.
Speaker 2:Thank you for doing that the whole, where the terminal was, where everybody saw that interaction. You could just feel it. Everybody knew something great just happened. He's going home to his family and the whole terminal just went quiet. It was in the moment with us. We was hugging and I was like man, I'm glad you're going home to your family. We managed to get all his belongings together, ship it over, get in contact with his brothers. It was. It was just a full circle moment for him. He tried to come down here and make it. You know it's warmer weather from do you remember um, is it? I can't remember. It's maryland or pennsylvania, pennsylvania. So it was real cold, it's freezing over there.
Speaker 1:You know it's hard and he just wanted East Coast.
Speaker 2:So it was real cold. It's freezing over there. You know it's hard and he just wanted to go someplace where it was warmer and he had a better chance. But it's hard to do it on your own.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that hunko story is crazy already. So we had met him, or Jesse had met him at the park in Kapolei and he just started feeding him. You know, like every so often he would see him, often he would see him, and and then I think you asked him what he needed, right, so he would meet you at the social security office building, even if it was weeks later.
Speaker 3:he's like, okay, larry, come and meet me here next week wednesday at this time, and larry would be there at that time, at that time like in his nicest clothes that he had, and he was like I'm ready, I'm ready, jesse, for to get a social security or his benefits and just something that he couldn't do.
Speaker 2:He wasn't coherent enough to go and talk to somebody at a receptionist for the social security administration building. He wasn't coherent enough to go and talk to somebody about getting his food stamps in order and there was. He didn't have that support.
Speaker 2:He didn't have a cell phone who can get a hold of him right he's on the streets, he's being kicked out of all these different camps, it's like it's very. But for I seen him, I kind of knew where his like pace was. So I just stayed with him and I know people think, well, you're not going to end hunger, um, by giving him meals. But it wasn't for me to end hunger it was to build that connection with him wow and then, all of a sudden, he's like you know what, uncle, a what? Is there something you need deeper than?
Speaker 2:wow than just that meal. He's like. You know, I could really use my social security benefits. I'm like well meet me at this building two weeks, uh, 8, 30 I'll. I'll go in there with you and we'll get it handled. Two weeks later, no cell, cell phone, no calendar. He showed up and it's, like she said, his best outfit. Waited just to be here. Got his hair combed back. You know what I mean. That was cute. The best he possibly could the best he possibly could. He showed up and he met you at that right.
Speaker 1:You were going to take him nine-tenths of the way.
Speaker 3:But he showed up on the one-'s. All I needed away, but then we couldn't find him for a while. So we so we were able to get his social security benefits in um instated, and then all of a sudden we're like where's larry? Like we haven't seen him in weeks, and so we kept looking for him. And then a month passed, two months passed, and they were like okay, something's going on because we haven't heard from him or seen him in a long time. And so I, we were in our house one day.
Speaker 3:I'm like, babe, let's make a video real fast and let's just see if anybody knows where he is or has seen him yeah, so we made a video and that video like within 24 hours I don't know how much views it got, but we had so many comments because we didn't have a picture of him, we just had a description of him and so we're like, okay, this is the area that he frequents, this is kind of what he looks like.
Speaker 3:And we had so many comments like, oh, I think I seen him there, I think I seen him here. But someone actually reached out to him and was like no, we have him at our facility here.
Speaker 2:And he was recovering there, so jesse went the next day to go see him and he was like in a neck brace and like a cast in his leg broke some bones in his leg, yeah, in his neck um his hand, like he had. He had a lot of injuries, so he was like said, he woke up in the hospital.
Speaker 3:So he doesn't really know what happened. He just he just got run over and he woke up and so we were able to find him. I forget what that program was, c4 or c4.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like right by rest stop okay, yeah, well, thank god yeah, and what I hear in that and and you guys may not even realize this, because you're right there in the trenches doing the fighting but there are times when I've helped people in the past and and then I don't get a response and I actually take it personally, which is kind of one of my faults, and in that situation I would have been like, oh yeah, well, there's, there's another homeless guy who just flaked out, and that wasn't Larry. He was meeting you on that one 10th right. So for him to go missing wasn't just him blowing him off.
Speaker 1:Yeah it on that one 10th Right. So for him to go missing wasn't just him blowing him off, yeah, it was, he got hit by a car. So you extended what I call grace right. I mean you put that gravy grace all over that thing and you went out and reached out to him. Thank you, and that's what I'm talking about with. We are not overcome by evil. You're not trying to fix houselessness in one of the worst houseless States in the nation, hawaii. You're trying to feed Larry, you're trying to make a connection so that you learn Larry's name and then you're able to go visit and say uncle, you need something more than just this. Oh yeah, I need my social security. So is that something you do as well? I mean, who taught you to do getting their IDs and their social security?
Speaker 3:We don't know, we figure it out as we go. We probably do it the hardest way possible because we don't know what we're doing, honestly, but we just kind of figure it out as we go.
Speaker 1:Because you're not a state agency.
Speaker 3:You're not a federal agency.
Speaker 1:You're not social worker trained.
Speaker 2:Taking these steps and trying to get people like, for example, one of the first people we've ever helped. He needed ID Going there taking him to get a state ID, like, for example, one of the first people we've ever helped.
Speaker 1:he needed ID.
Speaker 2:That's huge Going there, taking him to get a state ID on our own and paying out of pocket and helping him get through that. You need ID to get your benefits to get into. You need to prove that your house is by showing identification sometimes to get into a shelter.
Speaker 3:Can you not see? You have to prove that your house is to get into shelters.
Speaker 1:Wow, so I have to have an address for not having an address. Well, not necessarily an address, but you need like this thing from certain organizations.
Speaker 3:So I think ihs can provide, like kiala ho west can provide it, but it's basically a statement saying that yes, they verify that you're homeless and so certain shelters like long-term shelters need that verification in order for you to enter that shelter and then to get those letters.
Speaker 3:You need to be. It's easier now, but back then it was harder. They said that you needed to be a client of that organization. But I'm like but you're telling me they need the letter to be in your organization, but they have to be in your organization to get the letter. So I don't understand how they get this letter right.
Speaker 3:Right, that's mind blowing, yeah, so, but I they've made it a lot easier and luckily, like we've made connections with these organizations, so now, like we are able to obtain these letters easier. But back then we were just like so what do we do? How do we get them into? You know, how do we get them into programs? And it was just amazing.
Speaker 1:It felt so defeating just to get an id which I just yesterday I was out buying stuff. Oh, you need my license, boom. It's not even a thought for a regular I won't say regular, normal, I'm sorry, forgive me but for somebody who's just in the system and I'm great, here's my id, no problem. But I can't imagine life without that id.
Speaker 3:And that's the, the people, the ohana you're helping right now yeah, I mean imagine going to the dmv, like now for me. I hate going there and I gotta go back like three times because they're like okay, now you need this document. And then I gotta run home and then I come back. They're like, okay, now you need this document.
Speaker 1:You know so I mean, if you don't have a car or you don't have a license, how are you going to have time a day? You?
Speaker 2:don't have a watch you day to have a watch. They don't have a cell phone.
Speaker 2:They don't have access to power and it was helping these individuals on their own individual basis. We were able to figure out each thing how to get the birth certificate, how to get the Social Security, the fact that I didn't have to pay for that ID there's a program that pays for IDs for houses, individuals. So it's just that journey of I mean, like she said, we're doing it the hard way but we're learning and we're making the connections and to find out that there's all these other programs, resources, providers available to help us along the way.
Speaker 2:Now that they see we're game, we're in it. We got our sleeves rolled up, you know, and we're going for it.
Speaker 3:I think people are seeing that we're more serious and we're getting that support, yeah, and just being in the trenches, yeah you get to know people and then you tell them what you're about and they're like oh, you know you can do this, or we have these programs available, so everything's just a learning experience. So we, we I mean still and everyone's different, right, so every, every individual needs different things, and so we just learn. It's always going to be that's not a one-size-fits-all.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's not.
Speaker 3:Well, it's hard for us to build a program when everyone needs different things and you have to approach them differently. So it is just kind of case by case and we just figure it out with them wow, mahalo.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, both of you. I just it sounds like you're climbing a mountain of humanity every day. But then the learning process and then to have help from the state agencies or the case workers or the houseless uh community saying here's the letter you're gonna need.
Speaker 3:We're gonna make it easier yeah, now how long have you guys been doing this couple years the to the top Hawaii has been an actual organization for the last two years, but we've been doing like this kind of stuff for years, I mean even way before we had to the top Hawaii. We would, uh, we would always go out and like, make meals and go feed people, even on vacation sometimes, like we would buy groceries and whatever we had left over. We would just like make sandwiches and drop it off.
Speaker 2:Somebody doesn't have to go hungry tonight yeah.
Speaker 3:So I feel like we've been doing this for and jesse. I mean, it goes even way back with jesse, like when he was younger he would take in like his friends that didn't have places to stay.
Speaker 2:So I feel like for jesse, this has been like a lifelong thing for him to do when I had friends who ran away, who was runaways because they were just in a poor living environment, or maybe they just wanted to avoid an area where there was high in drugs. So I was like. I just need a place to stay and get away. I'm like, yeah, of course, pull up on the couch, you know what?
Speaker 1:I mean Keep the house clean, that's it.
Speaker 1:Wow, okay, that's it. Yeah, wow, okay, thank you for that. Um, that kind of makes me pivot to the other thing I was going to ask you about jesse. I was, um, listening to part of your story the other day and you said, because I want to ask where this all started, and you both, you started with that, ashley saying, I think jesse's been doing this almost his whole life. Now can you tell us where this started, why you started doing what you're doing, jesse? Because here's one of the lines I wrote down he's been fighting since elementary until his 20s. You're now 37 years old, which means you've been fighting for more than half of your life on the streets.
Speaker 1:I look at you I kind of see kind of a hardcore guy. I wouldn't normally walk up to a person like you on the street but because I know you through our experience together. You've been fighting for half of your life, you well, I won't give away the end of that. How did you get started, sir?
Speaker 2:And where are you from? I grew up in Waipou area, a more low income neighborhood, Pupupui to be more specific.
Speaker 2:And if people don't know where that is it's right next to ani ani, my mom being the amazing mom that she is, she wanted to ensure that I graduated on time and kind of following my older brother's footsteps and, uh, we're gonna get you into pro city high school. Um, that's where your brother went, that's where he graduated. I was like and she managed to do it using grandma's address getting to school school. I graduated on time. Long story short. And she got me through that.
Speaker 2:She felt like if I was hanging out with the friends and the environment I was in in Waipahu, I wouldn't have graduated on time and I would have been in more trouble than I was already putting myself in to begin with, from just being bullied, I guess, at a younger age, from the way I sometimes might have dressed, because I just was wearing the same clothes. That's all mom could afford.
Speaker 2:And I appreciate that she took care of the core duties as a mother. She made sure the roof was always over my head. She made sure I had three meals a day. She made sure I went to school. She really is the one who taught me to be grateful for everything.
Speaker 2:Yes, For everything I have. She raised me and my two brothers. She raised three sons on her own. My dad is still in the picture and he did what he could and had done as a father, but it was my mom who, you know, raised and turned us into who we are, as, I think, good sons.
Speaker 1:Huge, huge. Yeah. I have so much respect, jesse uh, for you saying that about your mom, and I have a huge amount of respect for single parents in general, whether that's a single dad or a single mom, but I have three little sisters growing up and two of them became single moms and watching the absolute struggle. Right and especially with their boys and girls are hard too. But I just much respect and love to your mom and you can give her a shout out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, she watches this Mom. I'm the favorite, she is, I am really the favorite, I love it.
Speaker 2:She'll side with her.
Speaker 3:She always got my back. What do you do to her now? Oh my gosh, what do you do?
Speaker 2:to her now. Oh my gosh, you better take care of that one.
Speaker 3:I love it. She's my girl.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Love you Mom.
Speaker 1:Thank you for what you did in bringing up this superhero, who then scored a super shero at his side.
Speaker 1:Now, jesse, you grew up and as soon as you said white paw, I was like okay, dang right, um, scrapers, union, scrapers, block right there. Uh, can you tell us? I think some of it was bullying, some of it, you know, we have to recognize that there is racism in the state of hawaii. And so I've heard you say you don't look samoan, you don't look tongan right, you don't look micronesian, you're an asian kid growing up in waipahu yeah what happened and um yeah, what happened.
Speaker 2:It's just because of the way I look. I didn't have at the time tattoos, I wasn't muscular whatsoever, any of that. So a lot of times people would come at me, would run me over, would. I can just remember I'm just going to recall one event at elementary where a kid would just come up to me and start wailing on me for fun, just for fun, and then walk out the classroom and I wasn't the type to tattletale, you know. So I took those hits and I just went back outside of the classroom and nobody knew. So it was being just treated like that, like somebody's punching bag.
Speaker 2:Eventually you build I don't know almost vengeance, uh, resent um and I I eventually learned how to defend myself and to the point where, um, I may have um lost my way, but I I hated bullies, like with, with the deepest, deepest anger for them. So it got to the point where I would go out and intentionally look for bullies and cause them the same pain they caused me. And along that righteous path of trying to do something intentionally good, I did lose my way here and there and there was just some fights that shouldn't have happened. That's how incarceration happened.
Speaker 1:So you were incarcerated. What was the sentence?
Speaker 2:uh, 18 months, like um, I think we spoke on it earlier, but they were trying to slam me for 10 years because of the severity of and the fact that all three cases happened like weeks, months apart.
Speaker 2:So I got lucky that they consolidated it. I didn't get tried for a second, third offense. It was like, hey, we didn't even get a chance to hit you on that first one, we didn't even get a chance to hit you on that second one. If you get one more, my public defender's like if you pick up one more charge, there's nothing I can do for you. I'm like I've been fighting my whole life now and I never got into any trouble. So to me I was like what is going on? It was back to, I mean god, that year.
Speaker 3:I swear he was getting arrested, like every few months, like they were picking him up to it was.
Speaker 1:That was a crazy and how old were you at that time, Jesse? I was 23.
Speaker 3:So you have to have been like 25 or 26.
Speaker 1:Wow so you're in your mid twenties now still fighting really hard. I can see where it started in a in a childhood of being bullied and, like you said, it became almost a resilience vengeance where you then went and started hunting bullies and picking the fights. Yeah, and so, in my estimation, there's a higher power that let all three of those arrests and then get balled up together so you didn't have, as you just said, a first violation, a second offense, a third, because they do start snowballing and getting worse and worse you would have been serving time still if that was mainland and you got first, second, third offense.
Speaker 2:That's a life sentence. So I'm just lucky I was in hawaii and that it was consolidated to only one one sentencing, which was first, second, third degree assault, unauthorized entry, motor vehicle, and then, um, was it promoting a dangerous drug? I had to. I had some stuff on me at the time so now?
Speaker 1:were you two together at the time, at that time?
Speaker 3:it was like kind of we were dating yeah, I think we were like a year into dating oh, wow so that's why you saw, he was getting arrested, like every few months yeah, I mean we were together when it would happen, so like when he, because all of them were from fighting right, so it would be like we were young back then. So we were drinking a lot, we were in town and town is just never a great environment, especially after two, after 12. It's never great. You know everyone's like fueled on alcohol and drugs and you know how it is like emotions. So, yeah, so we were there. I was there for all of it, so I wasn't surprised when he got arrested, because I was there when all of the incidents happened now what happened at that point?
Speaker 1:you get convicted. They were looking for 10. You ended up getting 18 months, but you didn't know that when you got sentenced were you. Were you still dating at the time?
Speaker 2:yeah, so we were dating, posted bail, posted bail many times total like many, many hundred thousand dollars yeah, I got frequent flyer t-shirts I love that we can laugh about it now, but it is no joke.
Speaker 3:No, it's not a joke, but you know you can laugh at your pain yes, once you've been through it, yes but we were dating and then, um, all his court cases were happening and then the public defender was like, okay, this next one is going to be your sentencing. So, um, that's when we decided to get married, because he was skeptical if I was going to stay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know you chose to marry him right then, while he's facing a conviction possibly 10 years. I knew already from my public defender that he's facing a conviction, possibly 10 years.
Speaker 2:I knew already from my public defender that he's like hey, you're looking at anywhere from a year to 10 years and they're pushing for that 10. And knowing that you know, yes, we're dating, yes, we've been together for a year, at the time I was like I've said it before, but she's in her prime and for me to take that away I felt selfish. It's like why would I do that to her? I shouldn't drag somebody down with me for my own crap that I'm doing. So. It's like if you're going to leave for me, in my head it's going to be heartbreaking for me in there. I'll probably spin out and lose my shit. So I was like you can go.
Speaker 1:There's no hard feelings, I respect you and and whatnot, and, and she's a beautiful woman and she's like young 20s yes.
Speaker 2:And she's like no, I'm here, it doesn't matter if it's one year or if it's 10 years. And I was like, no, it's okay. He's like no, let's get married. And I was like what?
Speaker 1:holy, wow, ashley, even if he got 10 years in prison. You were in, I was in. You're locked and loaded. You're good to go well, my mentality yeah, what was your thinking?
Speaker 3:I mean, I was 23, so I was young and in love like in love, you know, and so, but also I was there through, like I said, with all the incidents.
Speaker 3:So I didn't think it was fair that I'm like I'm not gonna leave because I was part of the problem too, you know, and like I'm gonna be there for you because we even though I wasn't the one physically fighting, we were there together, you know so, and I just seen I mean not getting too off subject, but we were fighting our own demons at the time but I would see glimpses of Jesse that I was like this is the guy or the man that I want to be with for the rest of my life, because I see the potential, I see the good in him.
Speaker 1:Wow, it wasn't all the time, you know so, because he was fighting his own demons, but like glimpses of sobriety, I'm like like, yeah, if this is the guy I can get all the time, then, yeah, this is what I'm supposed to be with. I love that you touched on that and maybe it was an aside that you meant to come back into, but I think it's important for us as an ohana, as people watching and our aloha alive audience is an ohana family that and I I often speak this to young people that if you meet someone who has and it takes a woman who has vision to see a potential in a man and you saw glimpses you said that if this man were to remain sober and I see the man that you believed and that you saw today sitting right here at this desk with us, but you had to have that vision. And so what I'm saying to the young people is there are times, even if you're young, it doesn't matter, you're going to see it and when you invest into that vision, as you have Ashley.
Speaker 1:that's why we have this hero sitting with us today.
Speaker 1:And that's why we have a shero still sitting with him today, because you chose each other. And there is such a good man in this, because part of what I saw when I was watching you on different podcasts, jesse, when I have seen you at the cafeteria doing rallies or in meetings at Hono Uli Uli Middle School, where we both serve, when I saw you speaking to the Nanakuli High School rally recently, I see a great man of goodness, just really humble, but you do superhero acts. And I saw that quote where you've been fighting since you were in elementary until into your 20s and I thought to myself this man has a supernatural sense of justice, because you weren't just fighting to be a bully or to be mean or to Lord it over others, you were fighting for your own life. In the beginning, you were fighting for others, and now you're still fighting, jesse, to bring justice to the streets for those who cannot defend themselves, the houseless, and so, um, you quoted Gandhi. You said right, what is his quote?
Speaker 2:I like to change it up a little bit, but I know it's be the change you wish to see in the world and be making. Trying to make it more local verse, I was like be the Aloha you wish to see in the world.
Speaker 1:I love that.
Speaker 2:And, to lead that example, I shove my son into a lot of these podcasts because I know what that struggle is growing up whether it's a broken home or or just some finances, and that struggle you go through and he's gonna have to face those certain demons as well as he gets older.
Speaker 2:So if I don't find a way to address that now, then, he's gonna have to deal with that and I wanted to be able to lead with that aloha and show him like, hey, there's another way. There is another way. You don't have to do what dad did. You don't have to grow up rough, rugged or or put yourself through this mess. It's like just just listen to the story, don't walk through the shoes wow, so that's huge, jesse.
Speaker 2:Now I just want him to know he has options. You always have a choice and you don't have to. You could, and you see which way that that can lead you. Or you could also just be a kind person and see where that leads you.
Speaker 1:That's good, and that's the shirt you're wearing. Be Kind to Everyone, my mom bought that for him Her mom, yeah, that's my favorite shirt.
Speaker 2:I love it. I'm never throwing this away.
Speaker 3:I can't remember the story, but I think it has to do with a girl that has special needs and she creates the shirts and sells them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I wish I remember her name. I've heard that story.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I don't know her name either, but I have heard that story and she gives like a little note when you buy the shirt. It's really cute. Wow, she was so excited to get that.
Speaker 1:Wait, so you're his mom's favorite. Are you her mom's favorite, then? Is that the swap that happened Because she bought you your favorite shirt?
Speaker 3:the favorite.
Speaker 1:I'm everyone's favorite, she's the most mvp favorite daughter um status. Thank you for saying that and I'm gonna quote you, if that's okay.
Speaker 1:Jesse, be the aloha you wish to see in the world yes because this is aloha alive and basically we're here trying to share aloha, because the heartbeat of aloha needs to get stronger and stronger yes and that's why I was so led to bring the two of you here, because I watch how you literally, spiritually, physically, financially, walk out aloha every day, in the darkest valleys, in the hardest places, and you're still choosing that. So, jesse, back to where you were, a child, going through those dark valleys by yourself. And now you're not a child, you're a man with a son, riley, and you're helping him walk through, because that's real. Every parent wants to see their child work. Their child's going to struggle, they're going to go through hard times. Bullying is off the charts, even here in the state of Hawaii, or, if you're watching from around the nation or even anywhere else, on all points possible around the world, there's bullying. The nation or even anywhere else, on all points possible around the world, there's bullying, there's meanness, there's evil. But when we walk our children through that and show them how to be kind and have choices you said so much in that one paragraph then they can make that choice of. Because you quote Gandhi, you changed it to Jesse, and I grew up idolizing Wonder Woman. Sorry, I did. I was a lady of the, a kitty of the seventies, a lady of the eighties, and it was the old Wonder Woman with, like the cape, which was a big flag Right, but she would say we all have a superpower. We can use it for evil or we can use it for good. I hope you use it for good. And so that's kind of where Auntie Dawn comes in with Choose Aloha program in the schools is you have a lot of energy guys. You can either use it to mob somebody and be evil or sell drugs or cheat on tests or use chat GPT. You know we can do all those things or we can choose to connect, be pure, be true, be present, right to make these choices and those sound so simple, don't they? Jesse is, I'm just going to be present right now and have a good conversation with you, give you good eye contact.
Speaker 1:One of my favorite memories with Jesse, um, and there are few, I don't know you guys super well, but I saw you standing in possibly the most terrifying place on earth, and that wasn't a physical fight, but it was at a spiritual fight. It was on stage in front of a bunch of nonakuli high school students, I imagine, and the teachers and I am a speech teacher by trade, and the number one fear on earth is not death, it's public speaking and jesse stood in the middle of this. It was a circular like courtyard at Nanakuli High School, and he's speaking to, you know, 100 plus 200, 300 kids and the teachers, all by yourself. It's the loneliest, most impossible, hardest place to stand. And you were trying to impart ha, which is the breath of life in Aloha right, and you were trying to speak into their spirit man, their spirit woman. And there there's almost like this trembling that happens in in the atmosphere. You can feel it right, like which way is this going to go? You're doing your best. You're like this warrior up there fighting. You've got a sharp sword, you're speaking good words, you're speaking Aloha. And and then, which way is it going to go? And you stood there valiantly, and they're all waiting, cause everybody's just in their own little place, right In their own space.
Speaker 1:And I stepped up and I was like wait, we're not done yet. And then you, you said thank you, he's wrapping up, he finished, and he was about to step off, but he's a very respectful young man. And as I went to go, honey, I said can I just ask you one more question? And you said, oh yeah, no worries, go ahead. And I stood there with you and and then when you opened your mouth, you had already landed the touchdown. Then you went for the Heisman, then you went for the MVP, then it's like we won heaven and I saw you transform in that moment and I know that the students felt it as well.
Speaker 1:So when you talk about helping your son, riley, walk through the difficulties of life, I just think there's so much goodness to a father who couldn't do that for his child, and I want to bless you and speak that blessing over you, because you may have grown up in a home where you didn't have a father, but you're figuring it out as you move forward and you're doing the best you can. Nobody on earth gets a manual, we don't get a textbook, we don't get the list that says here's how you're going to raise your son as he's a baby, as he's a toddler, as he's a preteen or a teenager. But, jesse, you're doing that and I'm so proud of you.
Speaker 1:Thank you and I want to thank you that, even though you didn't necessarily have a father and I know he's still in the picture, that's totally cool wherever that is but you're now fathering a community. You are a Makua, a father to Hawaii, and so stand in that strength and I hope that that blessing really sticks with you when you're walking in the stink areas right when you're in the disgusting public bathrooms trying to clean up or when you're at the night markets greeting people.
Speaker 1:Thank you for being a father to our Hawaii, thank you. I got a couple more questions for us. How can we partner with you folks to become an Aloha advocate? I love that you said that. Thank you for my hat for to the top Hawaii. How do we become Aloha advocates? Because maybe we're talking to somebody out there who's watching and saying, gosh, I don't have a story like Jesse. I don't have a bunch of tats, I'm not really muscular. I don't want to go into like how Bush area and Eva beach or I don't want to go out to the Y and I boat Harbor.
Speaker 3:How can I become an aloha advocate and partner with you guys? I think aloha advocate is just any, any type of kindness that you can share with others. It doesn't have to be ending some world problem or like going out and feeding the homeless or houseless, but it's just little acts of kindness that you can do every day. So choosing Aloha, you know when it's not your first choice.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 3:So that is an Aloha advocate to us? I don't know.
Speaker 2:I say Aloha advocate a lot when I go and I talk to the kids at schools, shelters and other community centers, but I mean, when I just was reflecting on this the other day day, I don't really go into detail what that stands for, at least from my standpoint, and I've been trying to preach that more now too, and it's by just sharing the experiences where I have a chance to advocate for Aloha. And I just want to share an experience where in the past, if somebody were to get in my face and they were confrontational, I was never one to step down from combat. Let's go.
Speaker 1:You went back down, you're bigger.
Speaker 2:You're stronger, you're older, it didn't matter. I had a bone to pick. Now to advocate for Aloha is like how can I address that same type of energy with Aloha? And I use this example of me being in a bar and this is after jail, me being in a bar and a guy comes up to me and he's just like oh, where are you from? I was like, oh, west Side. Oh, I heard you guys can bang, yeah. And I was like we're all right, we're okay. And he's looking around the bar.
Speaker 2:I can tell he's kind of sizing me up like he wants to throw down, and I think you were there that night. I'm not too sure.
Speaker 1:I don't want to mention the bar's name, but um and then.
Speaker 2:So I was like bro, how about I just buy you? And the bar is full. Now aunties and uncles are singing karaoke. There's a live band. The bar is not even here anymore. I don't really care, it's Hibiscus.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, this is serious.
Speaker 2:The bar is not even here anymore.
Speaker 1:Of course, Jesse says this like I would know all the bars right?
Speaker 2:No, I'm just joking, but that is serious.
Speaker 2:I talked to him. I'm like how about I just buy you a beer so we don't ruin everybody's night, but if you want to, I'm game. And he turns, he looks at me, he looks to the crowd, he looks back to me and he's like I take on Heineken, that's it. It's like that. You know what I mean. It's like events like that and I know I get tested every single time, even being in the service industry, and I work at Roy's Colina and you get tested by customers all the time you know, trying to blame you for every little thing, whether it's because they're late to their reservation or what, and you to still address them and treat them with humanity, love and respect is like.
Speaker 2:Those are just more chances for me to show my character and that you can still address them with love, even if they're trying to bash you and stuff we do online, for example, too.
Speaker 2:We're out, we're showing that we're feeding people. You'll have somebody chiming on the comments. Be like is that okay with department of health? And I was like, um, and to still show them love and that's just uh. To advocate for aloha is, I think, through our actions and addressing when people get in your face, that are you know, am I making sense yeah, yeah, huge yeah.
Speaker 1:That is just through simple actions, that's good. And even specifically to coming alongside with you guys at To the Top Hawaii, because I just watched recently some of your posts. Well, I watch you guys a lot. I'm your stalker. I'm your favorite stalker auntie, but I saw your videos. Thank you, ashley. Talking about how you sort some of the donations and if you could get some volunteers to come out. Maybe two or three volunteers, that's not a lot right? No, I mean we.
Speaker 3:A lot of the things that we do are sporadic, like we collaborate with a lot of other organizations, so you'll see mostly jesse everywhere you know everywhere.
Speaker 1:That's where I was like wait, he works at roy's. I know you have a job and you do to the top, hawaii and our markets oh my gosh, that's right. The night market and real estate. Oh my, so you're a normal regular working couple and then you do to the top, which is you're, you're not paid for that no, that's.
Speaker 3:If anything, we spend more money than we get donations, luckily from the community, like we'll get um clothing donations, food donations, sometimes monetary donations, and so whatever monetary donations we get, to, like buy food on the days that we don't have any sponsors, or like sometimes, like some of our friends on the streets Don't have clothes or a tent, yeah, they're like, oh, our stuff just got stolen and we have that monetary savings on the side that we use specifically to aid and help the houseless.
Speaker 2:So I don't put this out there enough, but I go out in the community at any chance. I have to try and help anybody else's cause. That's my thank you, because when we reach out for help almost instantaneously.
Speaker 1:I need uncle needs blankets.
Speaker 2:Auntie needs diapers. Somebody will message me that day, sometimes that within that hour. So for me that's a thank you. So I'll go to the beach clean. I'll go to the rally.
Speaker 1:I'll go to whatever right, and I love that part of what I see with you folks is you kind of have a hui or a family of people, like we have kikua from pure aloha right, you have trisha from my sister's keeper do you? Have other people you want to give a shout out to, because that so many. As you just said, jesse, you got backup instantaneous. It's like you are in a fight and you turn around. I'm not by myself, I got a tribe yeah, but this is the aloha advocate tribe.
Speaker 1:Right, we're, uh, we're the a team, we're the aloha team and we got your back. Anybody else you guys want to give a shout out to that?
Speaker 2:make sure we don't forget uh, the list could go on forever, but um, and I do apologize if I forget anybody, but I mean jess andreaola for helping us with connecting us to providers essentials.
Speaker 3:And her team, her whole team, kika, jeannie, they're amazing. They do so much work.
Speaker 2:Me and Hawaii, mark he always catches our back when we need to get a message out.
Speaker 3:He's like I got you, he posts it. Let's right. Isaac, from isaac hungry hungry hawaiian.
Speaker 2:Hawaii watch uh live um there's kikua hawaii entrepreneurs hawaii creators like they're on us, they're like oh, you need help.
Speaker 1:And those are titans of ig instagram influencers in the state of hawaii who use their influence for good yeah, right and they blow it up big time and you'll see it on mean hawaii. You'll see it on hawaii. Hhhn right, they do so much with you guys yeah it's really good to see that that heartbeat is strong is you're not fighting by yourself for all of these voiceless, houseless you're. We're gonna fight with you yes and, like you said, hawaii, we show up for our own. We do.
Speaker 1:I just thank god for that yes okay now we gave some shout outs and, as he said, it's kind of like the putting the pressure on you right, like at your wedding, where you're like I'm sorry, mom, I forgot to say your name, but you did it, you got it good. Um. So what now? What? Um, how can we get involved? You guys are I want to make a specification here a non-profit right To the Top. Hawaii is a non-profit, so if we wanted to make a donation, it could go there. Or you guys also do a lot with GoFundMe when you have a cause I've seen that. Is that true? Can you speak to that we have? I'll take that.
Speaker 3:So sometimes we'll make specific GoFundMes for certain people, but now we do have like our own. It's kind of like a gofundme for non-profits called zeffy, so it's a link on our instagram and that's. If anyone wants to do like monetary donations, um, zeffy doesn't charge like a fee. I think gofundme they charge like a fee to process it 30.
Speaker 1:so I had a hard time doing gofundmes personally because I I grew up really humbly poor too, and so if I'm thinking I have a dollar and you're taking 30 cents off the top, that's a big cut, man, yeah so, zephy, if you're a nonprofit, they don't take any funds from it you
Speaker 2:can make a donation to support the website, if you want to, yeah.
Speaker 3:But other than that you can do monetary donations, clothing donations, household items, I mean, we take any, almost anything, you know yeah, except used panties and half no use underwear no um open food items.
Speaker 1:This sweet lady had to go on instagram and she said it in a gracious way, but auntie dawn's just blunt.
Speaker 1:We don't got all day you're not saying you're used panties or bibbities bra, you can just toss it if you don't want it, ain't nobody nobody wants it, yeah, so don't do it so we can come alongside and you guys do a lot of interesting events. You do like movie nights. I've seen you have the market nights, which I love. Support local, always support local right, which is something that mark always says we to support the locals, Otherwise we won't have locals. That's why we have such a huge exodus. Moving to the continent right, I was told not to say mainland, because that's not the mainland right, I was like you're right, you're right.
Speaker 1:So, moving to the continent, we're going to come in for a landing and this is Aloha Alive. Thank you so much for my makana you brought me a beautiful lay.
Speaker 2:Thank you, jesse and ashley, thank you for ours to the top, and you made this yourself I figure if you guys didn't shower, you smell good.
Speaker 1:Now you know I love you guys so much and I did make it with lots of aloha.
Speaker 2:Thank you, no, thank you.
Speaker 1:So we're talking about aloha. What is aloha to you? Last couple questions what is aloha to you? Is it a scent, a smell, a flavor, a dish? And then the second part of it is who is your aloha hero? Who embodies aloha? So first we'll start with what is your favorite scent, smell, flavor.
Speaker 3:What is. Aloha, my, what is Aloha to me? To me, Aloha is a feeling. So it is a feeling of love, of comfort, of accountability. So sometimes it can be, you know, harsh but, loving at the same time. So to me, I think that's what it is. It's like a sense of family, yeah.
Speaker 1:It has to be sometimes a little harsh. I always say I just said this. Yesterday I was in Nāmea, hawaii, buying something and the guy was from Hilo. I'm from Hilo and I said remember growing up people used to say whose child is this?
Speaker 3:And or they would say you get your parents. Yeah, that's right by anyone.
Speaker 1:You know that, auntie now I my butt is clenching because I'm about to get the butt whooping of my life, right once my parents get found, they might give me a butt whooping yeah, but back in the day that meant people in our community cared about us yeah, everyone held each other accountable absolutely, so I love that you brought that up, ashley yeah, very good so I think it can be warm and loving and kind, but also, you know, it holds you accountable at the same time.
Speaker 1:Yeah aloha is not just a welcome mat, it's a force of fire.
Speaker 2:It's got to be fierce, yeah, otherwise I don't want people to think aloha is a sign of weakness and that's. That's another reason why we try to advocate for it. You know how much strength it takes for when someone gets in your face and you just still show them love and kindness, regardless of how they're treating you. Yeah, so that that's what we're trying to imply. More, because hate is so loud, it's time for Aloha to be just a little bit louder. Yeah, in a humblest way.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm not saying go out there and wreak havoc.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm saying to show more love.
Speaker 1:That's good, and if we don't, I love that. You said that Hate is so loud, and we're seeing that in our nation, where hateful forces are being super loud and they're getting all the attention because that's the way the media rolls. They need to sell time and ads, but aloha can be loud too, and in the absence of hearing the opposite side, then weaker minds or even just new minds, like little kids, will watch that and think that the hate is the only thing out there.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:No, there's a silent majority that needs to get unsilent and speak aloha and live aloha. So thank you for saying that. Is there, speak aloha and live aloha. So thank you for saying that. Is there an aloha hero or an aloha memory that you love growing up in hawaii, jesse?
Speaker 2:and you can't say manapua pork hash um, not not to be, um, self self-centered, but um it's. It's looking myself in the mirror and making sure I do that I would say, like that eight-year-old version of me, justice, that kid who had hope and dreams, and not let that go to waste, making him proud and showing him that I can be his hero. So it's looking at myself and thinking you don't got to be what the world told you to be. You can be yourself, you can be authentic, you can be a genuine person. And then also that if you try and look into the future and at your 80-year-old self and make that guy proud too your 80-year-old self, your 80-year-old self if both these guys are proud and you're living in your present moment, I think you're in a good zone.
Speaker 2:Wow, that that's just. I mean, isn't that you're? You're your biggest critic, you're a bit your biggest advocate, you're your, your biggest enemy. And to, to face off that person, I'm not in, I'm not in a war. A war with you, I'm not at war with you. The person next to me, it's that whole comparison as a thief of joy is like no, if I can just make things right with myself, 1% better every day, I'll be okay.
Speaker 1:That's great, and we are not in competition, we're in completion.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Right, and so I love that. That. If I really am being the best Dawn, if you're really being the best Jesse and you are a great really being the best Jesse and you are a great great Ashley then we're going to be the highest aloha we can be for this world. And that is not peer pressure, it's pure pressure and that's the influence, not infection, it's influence, and we're going to see a completely different Hawaii.
Speaker 1:I'm going to see a totally different US. I'm going to see a totally different world. That's huge, jesse. Thank you guys both so much once again. Ohana, as you're watching today, it's aloha alive, we've got to the top. Hawaii, and it's jesse and ashley and riley I know riley would be here for one more their son. They're just an amazing ohana. You can check them out on ig to the top hawaii and you can also see them um just all over the community. You guys have an events calendar.
Speaker 3:You post stuff all the time so if you guys are free, come down support local local music local, food local vendors.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So support local, always support local, and that night market is huge. So, again, on instagram you can catch them to the top hawaii and you can even come out and volunteer and help sort things, whatever it is, or give donations. It's going to be a huge help. So be the aloha you wish to see in the world with to the top hawaii. Mahalo and aloha.
Speaker 2:Thank you.