Tools For Peace Programs

Mental health

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

In the most recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescents. Emergency room visits for adolescent suicide attempts increased 31% in 2020 from 2019. In February and March of 2021, suicide attempts among girls aged 12-17 that resulted in emergency room visits were 51% higher than in 2019. Mindfulness-based SEL helps students become aware of the connection between their minds and bodies. Lessons include Learning about stress, including how it affects the body and ways to manage stress, develop self-control, and build healthy relationships.

83% of the youth we serve identify as People of Color, and we see the implications of these statistics on the ground every day. Unfortunately, the youth in our community face barriers to accessing culturally relevant mental wellness support due to poverty, lack of insurance and transportation, as well as a stigma around mental health challenges. Mindfulness and compassion-based interventions like Tools For Peace improve mental health outcomes. Our presence on L.A.C.E.R Afterschool Programs and expansion into Woodcraft Ranger's campuses raise awareness and offer resources to students, staff, and families throughout Los Angeles.

Tools for Peace After-School Programs participants reported that after participating in Tools for Peace Programs 1-3 times a week during the school year, they were better able to calm themselves down (95.7%), manage their stress (93.5%), focus and pay attention (89.1%), bounce back from a setback (86.7%), and manage their anger (80%).
By cultivating mindfulness, the program aims to enhance participants' mental health and well-being and foster compassionate leadership for a more peaceful future. Long-term goals include expanding the program to benefit more youth in LA with a robust, well-resourced facilitation team rooted deeply in their communities and the TFP curriculum. This grant will provide us with critical momentum toward achieving this vision.
“I just believe everyone deserves care. And I have felt the most cared for through Tools for Peace.” - Tesla, TFP Student

Research demonstrates that kindness and compassion lead to increased well-being, a strengthened immune system, and positive relationships and that mindfulness instruction improves psychological functioning. Research on youth-serving programs shows that mindfulness leads to lower rates of depression, negative affect, negative coping, rumination, self-hostility, and post-traumatic symptom severity (Sibinga et al. PEDIATRICS, 2016).
TFP measures its impact through participant surveys and interviews with staff, teachers, and parents. We have partnered with researchers at U.C. Riverside Emotion Regulation Lab to study The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Adolescents’ Stress Management in TFP programs. Through these means, we have demonstrated that TFP programs result in improved focus, conflict resolution skills, confidence, and reduced stress among participants.
"Mindfulness allowed my daughter to find a source of calm and a way to let go of negative thoughts.” - TFP Parent

“Tools for Peace has provids L.A.C.E.R. students with a safe space to be able to check in with themselves and learn how connected our minds and bodies truly are. Some of our students are going through things they are unable to share with their friends, mostly because they themselves are not sure why they are feeling a certain way. Tools for Peace helps them identify that emotion and maybe even realize why they are feeling that way.” - Marilyn Rangel, Program & Site Director, Irving Middle School, L.A.C.E.R. Afterschool Programs "I’d like to see how we (at Woodcraft) can partner with Tools for Peace for the fall semester. My daughter participated in TFP programs through L.A.C.E.R. and found them extremely supportive."
- Adriana Almazan, Woodcraft Rangers, Associate Director of Programs