By April of 1984, The Kline - Welsh Behavioral Health Foundation had found that it could no longer deal effectively with the type of patient presenting for treatment.  The range, complexity and "liveliness" of the substance related disorders being seen overwhelmed a staff geared principally toward treating middle aged men suffering from later stage alcoholism.

There were reports that the client population and treatment environment were out of control. That addicts were being admitted for treatment in order to fill the beds, but that no provision had been made to provide counselors with even the most basic knowledge or understanding of Substance Abuse issues and treatment.  Further reports stated that alcohol and drug use was rampant in the environment and that racism, and the use of physical intimidation and assault, on the part of clients and staff, if not tolerated, were at least being dealt with in a totally ineffective manner.

Insufficient revenue had resulted in the physical deterioration of the Half-Way House itself and had made it impossible for the administration to attract and retain skilled and effective staff.  An overriding sense of mistrust and resentment of State agencies, over perceived past attempts to "take over" the Half-Way House, had brought about a siege mentality that prevented the infusion of technical assistance.

All of these factors are most likely responsible for the sense of despair and decay that characterized the operation of the Half-Way House at that point in 1984.

There was serious thought given to closing the Half-Way House.  The question of liability sent the agencies responsible for monitoring facility operation scurrying for cover and there was talk of "sending a bus down to remove all of the remaining clients" as a result of the Half-Way House administration's refusal to allow State Inspectors to enter the compound and observe the existing conditions.

This was undoubtedly the low point for the Founders and Board of Directors of the Kline - Welsh Behavioral Health Foundation in their then (24+) years of continuous operation.

It was at this time, in late April 1984, that John Pullan told Sid Kline about a man named Mason Henderson.  Mr. Pullan told Mr. Kline that Mason had worked for him for several years and had been the most effective individual he had ever seen in managing a treatment environment.

It was explained that Mr. Henderson held the rank of San Dan in Shorin Ryu (Okinawan) karate, Ni Dan in Tae Kwon Do (Korean) karate, and Sho Dan in Ko Tse Tumi (a Japanese style) karate.  Mr. Pullan also related that Mason was on sabbatical, on the mainland, and had been on a spiritual retreat for a period of one year.

Mr. Kline asked Mr. Pullan to contact Mason to see if he would be interested in returning to Hawaii to restructure the Half-Way House program.

Upon his return to Hawaii, Mason discovered that the situation was bad indeed.   Alcohol and drug use was fairly widespread within the treatment environment.  A man named Charles S. served as the only counselor and reported directly to John Pullan. Classes and groups were rambling and disorganized, record keeping was non-existent, and Mr. Pullan was only concerned  with keeping the census up and the revenue that was being generated by the operation.

The Department of Health was actively seeking a plan of correction that would indicate that a genuine effort was being made to provide an acceptable level of safety and direction for clients and some measure of compliance with requirements for Licensing of the Half-Way House.

Mason sought to establish a working relationship with the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Branch of the Health Department.  At that time, Joyce Ingram-Chin was the Director of A.D.A.B. with Pat Coe and Karen Yanagasako serving as Program Specialists, responsible for monitoring Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Programs.

In a series of meetings, both at the Health Department and at Sand Island, Mason attempted to communicate his plans for restructuring Half-Way House operations and sought the help of Ms. Coe and Ms. Yanagasako in accomplishing this task.

Ms. Ingram-Chin, Ms. Coe and Ms. Yanagasako gave him the benefit of the doubt and provided important guidance and, even more importantly, moral support for his efforts at rehabilitating the Half-Way House itself.  There was to be no more of the animosity and mistrust that had characterized this relationship in the past.  This has to be considered as Mr. Henderson's  first accomplishment on behalf of the Foundation.

In terms of the treatment environment, Mason immediately began discharging individuals found to be under the influence of mind/mood altering substances.  Intimidation, threats of violence and all other attitudes and behaviors that would detract from the treatment environment were also answered with discharge.  In one week (15) individuals, or half of the entire patient population at that time, was discharged.

Threats of violence and death, made against Mason, by members of the patient population and their family members, were met with resolve. During this period of transition and tension Mason slept in the Dorm, with the patients, to demonstrate his lack of concern regarding the threats.

Prior to Mason's arrival, Mr. Pullan had attempted to convince patients to stay in treatment, in order to stabilize the census and maintain incoming revenues. Mason decided that, from that point forward, patients would have to convince him of their sincerity and desire for recovery before he would let them stay.  Mr. Kline, though concerned about the shrinking population, recognized the significance of Mason's point of view and supported his position.

In the past, where Mr. Pullan had refused to refund money to clients discharged for cause, Mason insisted that returning these funds to the clients was the only acceptable way to do business or he would have to return to the mainland.  Mr. Kline agreed and shortly thereafter, Mr. Pullan suffered a relapse of his own alcoholism and left the Half-Way House.  He would never again be involved in it's operation

Stabilizing the treatment environment, re-establishing the power of truth and reason over physical force, and returning the administration of the Half-Way House to it's original moral course are considered to be further accomplishments, by Mason, for the benefit of the Foundation.

During one (6) week period, Mason didn't leave the compound at all.  He would provide clinical services, work on clinical documentation, sleep, eat and begin again.  Later, Mason was joined by a retired veteran named Tom C.  Mr. C. appreciated and agreed with the efforts being made and would provide Mason with his first relief since his return to Hawaii.  This would be during the Fall of 1984.

The development of a Clinical Record Keeping System, Quality Assurance Program, the establishment of a standardized regimen of clinical services and the delivery of those clinical services are further accomplishments of Mr. Henderson for the benefit of the Foundation.

Also in 1984, Mason developed a Training Program for Substance Abuse Counselors and Substance Abuse Program Directors that would be recognized and subsidized by the Veterans Administration and the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. 

Interns and Trainees were told, at the time of their voluntary entry into these training programs, that the intention was to "grind them into dust" but that they were welcome to withdraw from the training programs, at any point, if the going got to be too tough. 

Mr. Henderson's martial arts background was clearly evident in the mental pressure and the physical demand for long hours of service on the part of these "prospective" Counselors.  A personal commitment to truly serving this population, as opposed to looking for a paycheck, has always been an important measure in determining an individual's suitability for a Sand Island staff position.

The nature of this intensive training is much the same as the requirements placed upon prospective medical doctors.  Mason believed that when a patient had a need, there was no room for self-indulgence on the part of the care-giver.  If a patient is found to be in distress at 2:00AM, a Sand Island trained Counselor snaps awake and is ready to serve.  With a large residential counseling staff, at the treatment center, this solid commitment to patient care has been proven, many times over, through the years.

In 1985, A.D.A.B. would establish standards for the certification of Substance Abuse Counselors and Substance Abuse Program Administrators in the State of Hawaii.  Mr. Henderson would become the first employee of the Foundation to receive full certification, in that first group.  Also in 1985, Mason would receive provisional certification as a Substance Abuse Program Administrator, and in 1987 he would receive full certification.  At this time Mr. Henderson is the only employee of the Foundation to receive administrator certification although a number of other staff members have since received full certification as Substance Abuse Counselors

In 1986, Mason would conclude that a fixed 90 day term of treatment was inappropriate and insufficient for the level of suffering and impairment being seen in the patients requesting treatment services.  Each patient had to be seen as an individual with specific treatment needs and treatment plans needed to be structured, for each patient, in that manner. 

At about this same time Mr. Henderson organized the Volunteer Support Services Network to allow "Graduates" of the program to supplement the provision of services in areas where funding support was insufficient.  Volunteer Support Services were provided in the areas of Peer and Ethnic Counseling, before "cultural" concerns were recognized as significant in the provision of treatment services to other than Caucasian populations, Health and Physical Readiness, Grounds and Housekeeping, and Structural and Automotive Maintenance.

Mr. Henderson also recognized that a client population of 6% non-Caucasian admissions was not representative of our Island population and in an effort to increase the participation of other ethnic groups, Mr. Henderson began visiting Oahu Prison where he would choose the "Baddest Actors" that he could find, of the various ethnic groups, and accept them for treatment at the Half-Way House.  Many of these individuals initiated long term sobriety, some entered the Counselor Training Program and are currently employed by the Foundation or by other agencies in the State.

As these individuals returned, clean and sober, to their communities additional referrals were generated by the observed transformation of these previously hopeless alcoholics and addicts. Today, in excess of 85% of all admissions are non-Caucasian, with the average age being approximately (32) years.

It was also in 1986 that Mason saw the need to establish the first "Drug Free Workplace", in a treatment setting, in Hawaii.  This meant ensuring the abstinence from the use and abuse of all mind/mood altering substances within both the patient population and all staff having direct contact with the patients.  Although some treatment professionals resigned rather than give up their "social" use of alcohol, Mason kept it simple by stating, " If not drinking or doing drugs is not a problem, there's probably not a problem.  If not drinking or doing drugs is a problem then there is a problem. " 

This innovation would result in a net savings, for the Taxpayers of the State of Hawaii, of approximately $50,000 per year, with the Foundation assuming the cost of this testing.  Previously this testing would be ordered by a physician and would then be billed to the taxpayers through welfare medical coverage.  This refinement also allowed for urinalysis results to be available within (20) minutes as opposed to (24+) hours.

It was in 1987 that Mr. Henderson realized that additional funding sources would be required to ensure continued growth and upgrade of the Half-Way House and the programs being offered.  Mr. Henderson developed a proposal of services that was presented to the Judiciary of the State of Hawaii and following meetings with Mr. Nathan Kim, Acting Director of the Adult Probation Division, and Ms. Janice Wolff, Administrative Director of the Courts, secured a contract that now provides, in a single year, the equivalent of the entire yearly budget of the Half-Way House at the time of his arrival in 1984.

Mr. Henderson also convinced the Board of Directors that "The Half-Way House", as a name, no longer accurately reflected the services being provided by the Foundation. Known now as the Sand Island Treatment Center, a full range of Substance Abuse Rehabilitative Services are being made available to the citizens of the State of Hawaii.

The development of the Substance Abuse Counselor and Substance Abuse Program Director Training Programs, the Transitional Living Services, The Volunteer Support Services Network, the initial development and subsequent refinement of a Urinalysis Testing Policy and the phenomenal increase in Hawaiian, Part-Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Islander participation in our recovery programs are also considered to be benefits of Mr. Henderson's service to the Kline - Welsh Behavioral Health Foundation.

Under Mr. Henderson's direction since March of 1990, following the death of Founder and long time Executive Director Mr. Sidney Kline, The Sand Island Treatment Center now offers an enhanced continuum of care that effectively addresses the individual treatment needs of each patient.

An expanded Transitional Living Unit, along with structured After-Care and Follow-Up Counseling Services, continues to improve the overall long term recovery rate of a very high number of all program participants.

Since assuming the position of Executive Director in 1990, Mr. Henderson has overseen the most comprehensive upgrade of the physical plant of the Sand Island Treatment Center in it's nearly 40 year history.  In 1992 alone Mr. Henderson oversaw the construction of a new City and County Sewer Line, several flood control projects for the Treatment Center compound and a major renovation of the original Chapel which still serves as our main meeting hall and dining room.  Mr. Henderson was able to complete these projects and bring them in ahead of schedule and $65,000.00 under the amount budgeted.

The construction of new shower and toilet facilities for the patients, the addition of 5,000 square feet of new Counseling and Meeting Rooms, 5,000 square feet of new administrative office space and conference rooms.  In addition Mr. Henderson called for a renovation of the main dorm that included Emergency Lighting, hard wire smoke detectors, new beds, linens and lockers.  We have also seen the construction of a new laundry facility,  storage building and maintenance shop.  All of these are projects conceived of, planned, directed and completed by Mr. Henderson since 1990.

It was also through this period of time that a decision was made to seek to increase our licensed capacity from 30 treatment slots to 123 treatment slots.  Mr. Henderson developed a Certificate of Need proposal that was accepted by the State Health Planning and Development agency in record time. 

At just about the same time that Mason and the Foundation were giving the State 93 new treatment beds, at no cost to the taxpayer, another agency in Hawaii had accessed public money, through the legislature, in the amount of roughly $6,000,000.00 to build a facility that would provide 45 beds. 

It is very important to note that no tax dollars or public contributions were sought or used in any of the construction or renovation projects accomplished by the Foundation.

Revenues, from the provision of treatment services, have risen by 20 times the amount generated in 1984 and the Staff, including Administrative - Clerical - Support and Counseling staff has risen from (4) Staff positions in 1984 to (65) today including Full-time, Part-time, Trainees, Interns, Volunteers, and Professional Consultants.   The addition of a Medical Director (5) Staff Psychiatrists and (2) Registered Nurses has ensured health care for all clients and their Family members, regardless of their funding or Insurance status.

Upon assuming the position of Executive Director in march of 1990, Mr. Henderson sought and retained the services of a respected local accounting firm and has overseen the performance of the first Independent Audit of the Kline - Welsh Behavioral Health Foundation and has successfully completed (9) additional Independent Single Audits since that time.  In addition, an audit performed by the Internal Revenue Service was successfully completed in early 1992.

Mr. Henderson has also arranged, and will continue to arrange, training seminars provided by recognized mainland experts in the field of drug treatment.

In late 1992, Mr. Henderson, in response to a request from A.D.A.D., developed Policies and Procedures that would allow for Interim Services for individuals unable to access appropriate care due to a lack of capacity.  Going those necessary steps further, Mr. Henderson put these plans into effect with the creation of a Pre-admission Stabilization and Screening Unit on the grounds of the Sand Island Treatment Center to allow for real relief to be provided to those suffering.

It was also at this time that Mr. Henderson realized that discrimination in the provision of treatment services against any individual, male or female, while possibly supportable with sufficient clinical camouflage, was wrong.  A decision was made to offer the full range of treatment services to all adult citizens of the State of Hawaii seeking those services and on January 1, 1993 the Sand Island Treatment Center Programs became a fully co-ed Treatment Facility.

In 1993, Mr. Henderson noted a sharp increase in the presence of Dual Disorders (co-existing chronic mental disorder and substance related disorder) among the patients seeking admission. In response to the new issues presented by this population, Mr. Henderson developed programs, instituted structured focal group psychotherapy and added a psychiatrist to our clinical staff.

By 1994, Mr. Henderson realized that there was a serious problem with "job hopping" in the counseling field.  This was seen as being primarily due to the efforts, of some agencies, to "grab" key staff from competitors for treatment funding.  Given his belief that trained staff are any business’ greatest asset, a decision was made to adjust the salaries of key staff and more adequately compensate staff for overtime worked through the provision of increased comp. pay and comp. time off.  Through this policy Mr. Henderson has been able to stabilize the staff at the Treatment Center and ensure consistency of quality and continuity of service for the patients.

In November 1995 Mr. Henderson was approached by the newly forming Hawaii Drug Court and asked to participate in the planning and development of residential treatment services for that population.  Subsequently the Foundation entered into new contracting with the Judiciary to allow for the provision of those services.

Since returning to Hawaii, and the Sand Island Half-Way House for Men in 1984, Mason has had a most profound, and we believe unprecedented, impact on the level and quality of care in the field of Substance Abuse Rehabilitation in the State of Hawaii.  The number of clients served by the Sand Island Treatment Center has risen from around (90) patients per year in 1984, to more than (300) patients participating yearly in all of the various programs offered. 

In 2001, the Foundation sought and received National Accreditation for it's Residential, Partial Hospitalization and Day Treatment programs for Alcohol and Other Drug and Mental Health Programs from CARF (Commission for the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities). In 2004 the Foundation successfully participated in the CARF Review process and received it's second full (3) year  accreditation.

At that time it was decided by the Board to change the name of the Kline - Welsh Behavioral Health Foundation to the Kline - Welsh Behavioral Health Foundation.  This was done in order to recognize the contributions of our two main Founding Members and also more clearly articulate the changing nature of the work performed at the Sand Island Treatment Center.

The Founders were able to see the tremendous impact this person had on the Foundation, the programs that it offers and the many citizens who have benefited by his actions.   The original Board of Directors were very pleased with and totally supportive of Mr. Henderson.

One of the final directions given by Mr. Sidney Kline, the last of the Founders, shortly before his death, was for the Board members to " Put him on the Board, make him Executive Director and get out of his way!"

Being aware of the commitment and dedication shown by Mr. Henderson and seeing the results of his vision and efforts, it is not difficult to understand the personal and professional faith that Mr. Kline, and the other Founders, developed in his ability.

We, of the Board, feel that it is of the greatest importance, for the Kline - Welsh Behavioral Health Foundation and for the many people it serves, that Mr. Henderson carry forward his vision of service for the benefit of the People of Hawaii and the Kline - Welsh Behavioral Health Foundation.