Preventing and Healing Domestic Abuse: A Policy Investigation of Meditation in Public Schools
Mentor: Paul Mena
Being stuck at home in a pandemic highlighted the importance of supportive human connection in our personal lives. But for some, quarantine had them locked down with an abuser, trapped in a destructive home and cut off from social welfare structures or family help. I was one of those people, along with my young son. Now that we are in a safe place, I want to explore ways to help mitigate domestic abuse and its resulting trauma. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to have myriad mental health benefits, including behavioral improvement and trauma recovery. My project explores teaching meditation skills in public schools as a partial solution to domestic abuse in our society. I combine research review, case studies, and personal experiences in an issue report to advocate for policy recommendations of mindfulness programs in public schools. Perhaps building mental health skills in our children will help foster the culture of connection we need to reduce and heal from domestic abuse in future generations.
See Sarah’s poster Meditation in Public Schools for Preventing and Healing Domestic Abuse
