Public & Human Services: Youth Corrections Officer
Public & Human Services
Youth Corrections Officer: Mary Lemau
By Mike Yoshiura
Due to financial reasons, college was not an option for Mary Lemau. She lost her mother when she was 13 years old, leaving her father to care for the family. “I always wanted to be just like my mom. She was a strong person who took care of everybody,” Lemau said.
Hard Times
Born-n-raised in Ewa Beach, Mary was the oldest of five siblings. Her father was always working so he wasn’t around to care for the kids. Being the oldest child in the family, Mary sacrificed her teenage years to be a mother figure to her five siblings. “It was hard because I wanted to play, but I had the responsibility of taking care of my siblings. I just wanted to be a teenager at times.”
Mary was responsible for taking care of the household chores like cooking and cleaning, and she even made sure the bills were paid on time. “My father would give me a check book with the checks already signed. People at the market and the bank knew our situation. I knew how to write checks when I was 13.”
All her responsibilities took a toll on Mary’s grades. She dropped out of school to help support her family. “I was young and I didn’t really have any goals in life. Losing my mother was hard, which is why I lost some of my motivation.”
Overcoming Adversity
Mary got pregnant with her first son, Kawika, who is now 24 years old, yet she set her mind to getting her diploma before he was born. At age 17, she passed a battery of General Educational Development (GED) tests, which is the equivalent to a high school diploma. “When I got it I felt very proud of myself. I knew if I had my son it would be hard for me to go to school and take care of him at the same time.”
After Kawika, Mary had two other children. As a single mother she worked odds and ends jobs to support her three children through their teenage years. In 2004, Mary was looking for a change so she applied for a vacant position as a female youth corrections officer. Mary got the break she was looking for, and today she is a youth corrections officer at the Hawai‘i Youth Correctional Facility in Kailua.
Job Skills
“It’s really not a job for everyone. There’s a certain way you have to treat the girls. You have to be gentle with them because they’ve been through so much. You need to listen to them, and be patient.”
Mary teaches the girls the right way to treat their bodies, how to be contributing members to society, and, as she likes to put it, “basic life skills.” The girls may challenge her authority from time to time, but she handles a sticky situation like a true mother would. “I try to talk to them, and talking about their feelings helps calm them down. I just try to be there for them.”
There's Something About Mary
Fostering children helped prepare Mary for her career as a youth corrections officer. It all started when Mary’s son asked her if she could be a foster mother to one of his friends. She agreed to it, and over the years she’s opened up her home to five foster children.
Her three kids are all grown up and living on their own, but there’s something about Mary that draws her to people in need. “The girls make me want to come to work. A lot of these kids don’t have family to come see them. Their family may live off island or are no longer around. I’m like a mother to some of these girls. I see them more than I see my own kids.”
Mary made a lot of sacrifices for her family, which is something her mother would be very proud of. She admired her mother for selflessly putting others ahead of herself, to the point where she made it her mission in life. Mary admits that she could have never pictured herself in this career, but now that she’s here she never wants to leave. “I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life. I’ve been told that it was my calling.”
