From Facebook:

a looong time ago, another adult sponsor in Common Ground decided that hella was a swear word and was not appropriate to be said in a church group, which, as a proud NorCal native, was actually a little offensive to me! I STRONGLY argued that it was NOT a swear word, that it meant VERY and was a perfectly OK thing for anyone to say at any time.

I won the argument at that time, but now, even all these years later, I FEEL VINDICATED!

Northern California's Slang 'Hella' Added to Merriam-Webster New Edition