For 32-year-old Lahaina resident Alex Chapman, horse therapy has been a constant in a world of uncertainty.
After deadly wildfires swept through West Maui last August, she signed up for free equine-assisted therapy sessions to help "healing in a time of great loss."
The Spirit Horse Ranch created the Maui Fire Relief program for survivors like Chapman, who are seeking experiential ways of processing trauma.
The nonprofit, located in Upcountry Maui, uses various intuitive techniques to help patients self-regulate their emotions with the horses. Maui fire survivors can participate in as many free one-hour sessions as they need.
Since the program started, it has done nearly 1,300 free sessions.
"We created a program and put boots on and opened the barn doors and said, 'Bring everybody up.' And made it free, because nobody needed to think about, how do I pay for this at a time like that," said Paige DePonte, director and founder of The Spirit Horse Ranch.
The Spirit Horse Ranch, housed on the DePonte family’s 77-year-old Triple L Ranch, began as a youth program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"During COVID, we noticed, as did everyone, the substantial mental health issues that were coming about, and for me, it was a pivotal point for our youth," DePonte said.
"I was seeing a lot of youth struggle, a lot of self-medication — not just with adults but especially with youth — and looking towards the future and what that held for them," she said.
That's when DePonte put together equine-assisted services for post-traumatic stress, autism, disabilities, veterans and more.
Following the death of DePonte's husband, she and her daughter Maurissa began taking courses to become certified and give back to the community.
“The healing program has been in the back of (Paige DePonte's) mind for over 10 years," Maurissa DePonte said.
"Her dedication to want to give back, instead of just sustaining what we have — but also grow it — and in a way that not only allows us to still be out here at the family ranch, but also give back to our community and also those future generations that need it the most," she continued.
Chapman, who has been using the services for over eight months, said it has helped in her recovery.
"I'm very, very proud to still live on the west side and still live in Lahaina.”-Alex Chapman
"I've grown so much," she said. "I mean, I tell Paige all the time the work that she does, just being able to live day to day, and have just a little bit more handle and control over things."
"It may not change your entire life, but it certainly changes you from the inside out. And I know a lot of people have seen a change in me as well."
While Chapman's Lahaina home survived the fire, she lost her job as a restaurant manager at Fleetwood's on Front Street when it burned down.
"I live right above the bypass, and so I see the memorial, I see the burn zone every day, and though it is really hard, I feel like I'm still there to protect it and to at least be there in some small part to know that Lahaina is not dead," Chapman said.
"There's still people that are still there, and we still want to rebuild the community. And though it may be hard on the day-to-day, I'm very, very proud to still live on the west side and still live in Lahaina.”
