Healing our Healers
Building a Mindful City
About the Initiative
Ivy Child, in partnership with the Boston Public Schools (BPS) and the City of Boston, is developing a system-wide “Healing our Healers” mindfulness training program for city educators, Boston Public School employees, human service workers, and other caregivers to learn strategies that can be integrated into work and life. The partnership’s goal is to foster a system-wide blossoming of culturally and linguistically responsive self-care in schools and in partnership with other city agencies.
Working with BPS leadership and utilizing a train-the-trainer approach, Ivy Child will pilot Professional Learning Communities in the Central Office among staff that are the “front line of the front line” and with faculty and staff on school campuses. These respective Learning Communities will be the proving ground for learning about the effectiveness and principles of mindfulness and compassion as well as for the adoption of an array of mindfulness practices. This work will reduce measurable levels of stress and related negative outcomes amongst our educators and other “Healers” in the community and most importantly amongst our students, improving classroom learning and strengthening relationships within our Boston communities.
We invite all Boston agencies ranging from Law Enforcement to Public Safety and Health and Human Services to expand this work beyond the classroom and into our community, serving the diverse children and families in need.
Launch Event
On October 2, 2018, we hosted a launch event from 9:30am-12:30pm at the Freedom House, Boston. The event was open to all educators, caregivers, and those interested in bringing mindfulness to schools and communities, and offered the opportunity to learn more about the campaign and how to get involved. The event featured a:
- Welcome by Regina Robinson (Boston School Committee Member) and Dr. Charles Grandson (Interim Chief Academic Officer of Boston Public Schools)
- Keynote by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley
- Panel discussion with Chief Marty Martinez (City of Boston’s Boston Health and Human Services cabinet) and Dr. Mathieu Bermingham (Lead Child Psychiatrist for the Commonwealth of MA Public Health Division and Children’s Services Roxbury), Thaddeus Miles (My Brother’s Keeper Board Advisor and Co-Chair).
- Mindfulness practice sessions led by Ivy Child Mindfulness Ambassadors, Jordan Grinstein and Marlene Boyette
Click HERE to read more about Ivy Child’s Mindful City Initiative.