Mindfulness First

Our mission is to teach children and adults practical skills and knowledge needed for lifelong mental health wellbeing. Mindfulness First offers evidence-based and trauma-responsive programs, which equitably support children, educators, and communities with tools to manage stress and navigate life's challenges.

WHO:
At Mindfulness First, we realize it's easier to build resilient children, than to repair broken adults. We support Arizona schools in prioritizing the mental health wellness of their staff and students through mindful awareness life-skills and bring scientifically proven protective factors that help children prevent and manage difficulties.

OUR WHY:
Mindfulness First has provided tools for lifelong mental wellbeing to schools, businesses and communities since 2013, with our major focus being K-12 public schools. We address mental health by teaching about the biology and neuroscience of stress and trauma to all ages. We combine this knowledge with life-long skills and tools that can help us to self-regulate and co-regulate, to process big emotions and feelings, and to improve not only our own health, but that of our community. This focus delivers scientifically proven 'protective factors' that help to prevent and break the cycle of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) or 'trauma'.

Our services address mental health for the lifetime of those we serve - our services are preventative, protective and healing. The central focus of our current work is to sustainably mitigate the disastrous mental health plight of the COVID19 effect upon our K-12 population, via our evidence-based services. At Mindfulness First, we know that before the pandemic we were experiencing a mental health crisis, and our youngest Arizonans are struggling through a highly escalated and disastrous collective mental health crisis.

Mindfulness First is proud to partner with the Arizona Department of Education as one of a select few organizations to be trusted with pandemic relief funding until September 2024, specifically intended to support the mental health of AZ K-12 schools. We are uniquely positioned to bring mental health education to schools thanks to ADE, and we are kindly inviting local partners to help us extend those services to as many Arizona K-12 children as possible during these difficult times.

Testimonials

"I noticed that after just a few weeks of this class, it is so much easier for me to sit quietly. My mind seems to settle down more and more." - 10th Grader

"I used my mindfulness before a playoff soccer game because it was a really important game and I wanted to do well and be focused." - 6th Grader

"Students became more aware of their feelings and how what they do effects others" - Teacher, Crockett Elementary School

"It helped me whens some kid asked me to do something that was going to get me into trouble. I used mindfulness to make the decision and refused to do it" - 4th Grader