Project MIND: Promoting Youth Resilience, Health, and Safety through Mindfulness and Restorative Approaches
PROJECT SUMMARY: Project Youth MIND (Mindfulness Integration for Nonviolence Development) seeks to develop and test a novel intervention designed to promote the health and well-being of youth through an integrated model of mindfulness, restorative practices, and resilience education. Using a mixed-methods experimental design, this research incorporates the disciplines of anthropology, criminal justice, and social work. The project will be heavily informed by the lived experiences of District of Columbia youth, integrating their perceptions of the impact of violence, stress, and trauma into the research design. The two primary research questions are (1) how does an integrated model of mindfulness, restorative practices, and resilience education impact youth’s knowledge about the health implications of violence?; and (2) what is the effectiveness of an integrated model of mindfulness, restorative practices, and resilience education in reducing violent behavior among African-American high school youth?
The findings from this research will influence school disciplinary policies and will also contribute to our knowledge of how culturally relevant mindfulness and restorative justice programs can promote a Culture of Health among African-American urban youth.
TEAM MEMBERS
[Pictured from Left to Right]
- Sharon Alston, MSW, PhD, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia
- Ivy Hylton, CRJT, MSW, LCSW, PhD, Co-founder and President of Youth and Families in Crisis, LLC, and MAAT Training Institute for Restorative Justice, lead contractor, Balanced and Restorative Justice Practices Institute for Juvenile Justice Reform, a program of the District of Columbia Superior Court Social Services Division, D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, and D.C. Public Schools
- Michelle Chatman, MA, PhD, Assistant Professor, Crime, Justice, and Security Studies program, University of the District of Columbia