The UCSF-John Muir Health Jean and Ken Hofmann Cancer Center at the Behring Pavilion is now open.  LEARN MORE >

   

community health fund

   

The Mindful Life Project – Contra Costa Program Expansion

the mindful life project

Reports have documented that many young people experience high levels of trauma and chronic stress, mental health conditions that significantly affect learning and discipline in schools. At the same time, studies have demonstrated that the practice of mindfulness can alleviate stress and improve focus.

That’s why, in July 2019, the Community Health Fund (CHF) initiated its support of the Mindful Life Project (MLP). MLP is a West Contra Costa County-based organization that aims to empower underserved children through mindfulness and other transformative skills.

The initial $156,500 grant supported a partnership among the MLP, the Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) and the Village Community Resource Center (VCRC) in Brentwood. Between July 2019 and April 2020, MLP delivered weekly mindfulness training for 2,400 students from four Title 1 schools (two middle schools and two elementary schools) in the MDUSD, helped create two middle school Wellness Rooms that facilitate stress reduction and comfort, trainedVCRC staff in a train-the-trainer pilot program, which prepared VCRC to implement its own mindfulness program. MLP demonstrated its value by achieving a 35 percent decrease in student discipline citations and suspensions and a 20-minute per day increase of quality classroom instruction time, measured by teacher surveys administered at the beginning and end of the school year.

In February 2020, the CHF awarded MLP a $12,500 Executive Director discretionary grant to pilot its program from March 2020 – May 2020 at two Pittsburg Unified School District (PUSD) elementary schools. When COVID-19 hit, eliminating the possibility of face-to-face training, MLP worked with PUSD’s Coordinator of Social Emotional Supports and the CHF to offer virtual mindfulness training to every staff member, from the superintendent through custodial staff in PUSD, as well as to district families and dozens of students. The success of the pilot prompted the CHF, in July 2020, to approve an additional $110,000 grant to MLP so it could continue its work at the original four schools, add one additional school in the MDUSD and formally partner with the PUSD to provide the MLP program at two schools during the 2020/21 school year. In turn, MLP successfully provided weekly training for 3,100 MDUSD students, from five sites, three  middle and two elementary schools, as well as weekly training for 1,150 PUSD students, from 2 PUSD elementary schools. 

In the 2021-2022 school year, as students returned to in-person instruction, MLP expanded its program to all eight elementary schools in PUSD, continued to serve five MDUSD Title I elementary and middle schools and engaged with Brentwood and Oakley District leadership to expand services into the Far East region of the county, which has a significant migrant worker population. MLP:

  • Secured funding from other donors to serve 4,129 MDUSD students at three schools – without CHF support
  • Served 4,900 PUSD students weekly
  • Piloted virtual Mindfulness 360 training program in Oakley Unified School District (OUSD)
  • Piloted a Workforce Development program in partnership with Los Medanos College and extended it to include Pittsburg High School students and Bay Area Community Resources clients

The MLP’s updated 12-month plan for the 2022/2023 school year – for which the CHF awarded a grant of $70,000 – will enable the organization to expand to two elementary and one middle school in OUSD, enter into Brentwood Unified School District (BUSD) and continue to build its Workforce Development programs. Key expected outcomes:

  • At OUSD, MLP will serve 2,100 students virtually, provide four in-person mindfulness assemblies and provide monthly wellness sessions to 75 teachers and 25 families.
    • OUSD serves a population that is 51% Hispanic/Latinx, 12.5% Black, 3.4% Asian, 54% Low Income and 20% English Language Learners.
  • At BUSD, MLP will serve 1,600 students virtually, provide two in-person assemblies and secure a memorandum of understanding for the 2023-24 school year.
  • MLP will strengthen its partnership with Los Medanos College by creating partnerships with at least two departments aligned with implementing mindfulness as a potential career path, training 100 students and recruiting 10% of the trained students to pursue a career with MLP.
    • Los Medanos College serves a population that is 43% Hispanic/Latinx, 13% Black, 6% Asian and 8% two or more races.

MLP expects it will be able to sustain these efforts as it has historically seen substantial investment from returning schools and school districts upon successful completion of trainings from the year prior. While MLP has strong relationships with a wide array of philanthropic organizations, individual and business donors, it also aims to decrease its reliance on philanthropic support by increasing the organization’s earned revenue to 42% in the coming year and 50% within three years.