Bay Area, CA
The heart of MBA’s work is to provide the most at-risk youth in the most difficult environments – probation detention facilities, youth detention camps and at-risk schools – with concrete tools to reduce stress, impulsivity and violent behavior and increase self-esteem, self-regulation and overall well-being.
Drawing on the practices of a variety of contemplative traditions, as well as the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction protocol developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn (an MBA Project advisor) and the Emotional Intelligence work of Dr. Daniel Goleman (an MBA Project advisor), MBA’s program synthesizes best practices in meditation (shamatha/vipassana, sensory awareness), movement arts, expressive arts (hip-hop/spoken word poetry, journaling), group-process modalities, peer counseling, and social and emotional learning models. Our classes are physically and emotionally safe, experiential learning environments designed to train youth to understand their internal need states driving their behavior, empower them to make different choices and support them in making these new choices.
For the past 10 years, MBA has delivered mindfulness-based programming in juvenile halls, youth and family service agencies, schools and community-based sites around the Bay Area. We currently serve an average of 1200 unique youth per year via 650 group classes. Program sites include the following
Probation
Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center
Contra Costa County John A. Davis Juvenile Hall
Marin County Juvenile Hall
San Francisco County Log Cabin Ranch
San Francisco County Juvenile Justice Center
San Mateo County Youth Services Center
San Mateo County Camp Glenwood for Boys
Agency & Community-Based Sites
Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland – FACES Program
Edgewood Center for Children & Families
Mission Neighborhood Centers
Seneca Center
Solar Richmond
United Roots
Urban Tilth
Education
Berkeley High School
Castlemont High School
East Oakland School of the Arts
