Bonnie Grossen Evaluation DirectorAugust, 2024  While much research has examined correlates with satisfaction with life (family structure, delinquent behavior), little or no research has evaluated whether intervention can improve adolescents’ level of satisfaction with life. This study found that the BeKindr interventions to teach kindness had a significant positive impact on adolescent satisfaction with life, and consequently, implies that these interventions also can reduce delinquent and risky behavior. These findings are important for public policy consideration in efforts to reduce teen violence, delinquency and antisocial behavior.    The effects of BeKindr interventions to teach kindness were evaluated with a sample of 85 Tier 2 and 3 at-risk adolescents in 8 schools in 7 different states, aged 9 to 18 in grade 4 through 12. The at-risk factors represented frequent behavior

“I act more kindful and thoughtful of others,” says Caiden, age 10, a participant in R.I.S.K Business Camp. “It really lets you learn the inner you, how you see yourself and others.” “I dance,” says Kendall, a 13-year-old student at Project CAMP, “and usually when I get frustrated with myself about not understanding something, instead of being super upset about it and letting it eat away at me, I use the three-breath method [taking three slow deep breaths to redirect our mind]. I calm down and I try it again instead of just sitting there not doing it.” “I was more of a shy person,” says Zeq, an 18-year-old basketball player in the StepN2OurLane program. “I didn't really interact with people. But now going through the program, I’m more confident in speaking to other people, such as teachers and coaches.” The experience that has changed these young people is their participation in

December 2021Erin ChaparroEvaluation Director Four partnering agencies participated in the initial launch of Lasting Happiness groups. A total of 20 participants and 4 facilitators worked through the Lasting Happiness workbook together over the course of 15 weeks in the Spring and Summer of 2021. All participants were recruited for participation because they had experienced a significant number of adverse childhood events. The following groups were involved:  Centro Latino Americano – This organization serves a LatinX community The facilitator planned to conduct a total of 15 sessions, one per week, for 1.5 hours per week, 6 individuals participated, 50% of whom completed all activities.  New Beginnings Winter Haven Campus – This organization serves African American, LatinX, and White students. This group started and ended with 6 participants with 100% of participants submitting both

December 2023Bonnie Grossen, Erin Chaparro   The Better Way Mentoring Program provided the Lasting Happiness program to a number of teens aged 15 to 21, 61 of whom took both the pre-survey and post-survey. In addition, the Mentoring program provided tutoring/academic assistance, opportunities to participate in activities across the broader community and funds for teams to participate in league sports and tournaments. Each student had experienced an average 10.8 risk factors identified by a Survey of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and 99% were persons of color (African American, Latino or biracial). The students attended mentoring sessions 4-5 times per week. Groups of 8-9 individuals attended a weekly 2-hour session in the Lasting Happiness program with their respective facilitator, for a period of 10 weeks. Individual groups covered 1-2 chapters per week over the course of the

October, 2023Bonnie Grossen, Chris Loan    DESCRIPTION: A sample of 23 teens of the Boys and Girls Club, aged 12 to 18, volunteered to participate in an after-school program to learn the power of kindness by working through the 15-chapter Lasting Happiness Workbook facilitated by two trained leaders. Participants received a stipend for attending the sessions for 9 weeks, 2 sessions per week for a total of 18 sessions that were each 1 to 1:15 hours in length.  All but one of the participants received free or reduced lunch. A 23-item Happiness Survey (reliability = 0.86, which is very high) was administered pre- and post-program. An inventory of applications to daily life was administered post-program only. Sixteen participants completed both the pre- and post-happiness survey. We analyzed the change in pre- to post-program scores of these 16 participants using a two-tailed, paired

by Doug Carnine 〰️This was originally published on April 15, 2022, in the Opinion section of The Register-Guard of Eugene, Oregon.〰️ A lack of kindness changes lives.   Commenting on the recent doubling of Lane County youth suicides, suicide survivor Zak Gosa-Lewis told KEZI, "As a kid, I just didn't feel like I could talk to anybody.”  The Eugene-based Choose Kindness Foundation surveyed a group of 50 young people of color with a history of trauma about how they would like to change their lives; 88.9% agreed with this statement: “I feel I need more close relationships with people who really care about me.”    In March, the Oregon Health Authority described youth of color in particular as suffering from increased stress, depression and self-hate, all of which stand in the way of kindness. From science, personal experience and the teachings of the world’s religions, we know that kindness

〰️The following blog is a true story submitted to us of how Lasting Happiness* helped transform a life.〰️ The Isolating Effect of Trauma Thin, with a waist so small his belt buckle was beside the point. Hair long, tangled and streaked with fading red dye. Tall and soft-spoken. Courteous, but mechanical, his handshake and his words seemed a mimicry of being alive while his heart was someplace else. R. was a 15-year-old teenage boy who had been released from a mental health residential treatment center into the care of his grandmother. The center was an alternative to his being incarcerated for drug use and gang activity. He had not been in any school setting for three years and had been diagnosed with mental health problems to the extent that he was unable and unwilling to be near other people. His grandmother’s home was where I met with him daily for 4 months as his sole teacher hired

A Randomized Control Study of the Effects on Mental Health of Lasting Happiness: A Guide for Teens and Adults  Erin Chaparro and Bonnie Grossen September 2022    This study used a control group design. Teens with a background of adverse childhood experiences attending alternative high schools (New Beginnings) were invited to participate in the Lasting Happiness (LH) program. A control group also took the pre- and post-surveys.   Across all 3 sites, 65% of the students received free lunch. Approximately 95% of the students indicated that they had experienced some type of interruption in their education and had either failed a previous grade, were expelled or suspended from school, or dropped out of another school before enrolling in the alternative high school. The NBHS group of schools report only approximately 25% regular attendees and a 78% minority enrollment: 44% Hispanic, 29%

October 2022  Erin ChaparroEvaluation Director    DESCRIPTION: In fall 2021, 8 schools in communities with the highest rates of community and school violence in the Philadelphia School District received a KindR grant to teach kindness. The KindR activities would complement the already existing Positive Behavior Support System (PBIS). The district matched these 8 schools with 8 other schools (control group) based on similarity in demographics and in PBIS implementation status. Propensity score matching was used to identify 8 comparison schools that did not statistically differ from the PBIS Kindness schools. The district administered surveys district-wide to monitor student, staff, and parent/caregiver perceptions. The district provided the data from the surveys as aggregated data. Student-level data was not shared. With a sample of only 16 (8 experimental and 8 control) the power to

  January 2023Bonnie GrossenEvaluation Director  Breakthrough Miami provides an academic enrichment program that uses a student-teaching-students model to ensure that motivated, under-resourced 5th–12th-grade students have access to excellent educational opportunities, graduate from high school on time, and attend college. Breakthrough Miami incorporated the Lasting Happiness (LH) workbook study into their Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program for 775 teens in 5 campuses.  Results:   Saturday Program During School Year:  At the end of the school year, 259 scholars took a survey.    68% of Scholars reported feeling confident in using mindfulness as a strategy to support their mental health.    69% of Scholars reported being able to react and respond to difficult situations with a growth mindset.    80% of Scholars reported they developed close relationships with staff and volunteers.