Holistic Wellness Circle

Many parents of young children suffer from depression, anxiety, and financial stress.

• In the U.S. before the pandemic, 15 million children were living with a parent suffering from depression. That equated to one child out of every five children and 7.5 million depressed parents. (1)
• During the pandemic, the costs of childcare increased by an estimated 47%, due to reduced enrollment and increased costs of PPE and cleaning supplies, making child care less affordable. (2)
• About six-in-ten (62%) parents with infants or preschool-age children say that it’s hard to find child care in their community that is both affordable and high quality, and this is true across income groups. (3)
• Stressors including COVID, financial instability, and a lack of child care support mean that more than 50% of working mothers are feeling anxious and 37% feel isolated, a survey found. (4)

Child mental-health and parent mental-health are linked. If parents suffer from depression, anxiety, and stress, their children are more likely to suffer these maladies as well.

At present, no program is able to solve depression, anxiety, and financial stress for families with young children in a holistic way.

It's worth noting that the problem of mental distress in parents and children is not limited to the U.S. Similar rates of ill-being can be found around the world. In Peru, for example, a 2022 survey revealed that 80% of parents of children under 6 have anxiety, depression, or stress. (5)

NOTES

(1) Depression in Parents, Parenting, and Children.
(2) "Home Alone: The Pandemic Is Overloading Single-parent Families."
(3) "Parenting in America."
(4) "Spikes in anxiety, depression are hurting working moms."
(5) "Survey reveals that eight out of ten parents of children under 6 years old have anxiety, depression or stress."

A Holistic Wellness Circle is a group of families with young children who meet weekly to generate the energy of mindfulness, build trust, and share childcare costs.

In the adult circle, we generate and maintain the energy of mindfulness in a few ways:

I. Reconnecting with nature
We recognize that we are part of nature and time in nature is vital to our well-being.

1. We meet outdoors in nature-spaces, weather permitting. In case of rain we meet inside. We meet rain or shine.
2. We support the health of these spaces in a variety of ways, including rent, light maintenance, and infrastructure upgrades.

II. Mindfulness exercises
Our mindfulness exercises and community agreements are inspired by the Plum Village mindfulness tradition and indigenous wisdom. Our circles are not affiliated with any religion (some of our members belong to local religious traditions). Our circles are inclusive, and we welcome people of all backgrounds who want to grow in mindfulness and community.

1. Mindfulness of Movement -- movement in sync with breathing.
2. Stillness (aka mindfulness meditation) -- concentration of attention.
3. Heart Talk -- structured dialogue using a talking stick on a variety of topics.

III. Community agreements
We know that clear and consistent community agreements are essential to a trusting and loving environment. 

1. Loving Speech -- speaking from our experience in ways that are helpful.
2. Deep Listening -- listening to understand, not to react.
3. No fixing (including no preaching) -- no advice, unless it is requested.
4. Confidentiality -- not sharing anything that is sensitive.

To make the Holistic Wellness Circle accessible, our Childcare Team provides free, holistic care for young children while adults conduct the circle. Kids have access to a nature-space, a classroom, and at least two loving teachers.

The Circle works to reduce and transform depression and anxiety. We are working on adding another component to relieve financial stress: a financial safety-net in the form of compassionate finance.

Holistic Wellness Circle serves families with children 0-5, in particular those suffering from depression, anxiety, and financial stress, the majority of whom are people of color. Hispanic parents and grandparents designed the program. However, our solution is inclusive. Parents, caregivers, and children of all races, ethnicities, and social class are welcome at the Holistic Wellness Circle.

The people we serve tend to have at least three things in common:

• Limited access to mental health services in a loving and supportive environment.
• Limited access to childcare that is convenient and affordable.
• Limited access to nature near home that is safe.
• Limited access to holistic wellness.

As a result of limited access to vital resources, the people we serve are like second-class citizens. We know this because we are part of the people we serve.

MENTAL HEALTH & WELLNESS
For families of color, second-class citizenship means reduced access to mental-health services across the lifespan. Barriers to care increase mental-health risks and mental illness. With mindfulness at the core of our solution, the mental-health impacts of a Holistic Wellness Circle are both immediate AND long-term. For example, members arrive stressed and distressed to varying degrees. After just a few minutes of mindfulness of movement, members experience stress-relief. During stillness exercise, peace-of-mind naturally arises, overcoming negativity bias. Parents can take these mindfulness skills with them wherever they go, as long as they live.

CHILDCARE
With childcare costs higher than ever, it is often impossible for parents to afford childcare for self-care activities. As a result, parents neglect their own health and wellness due to financial pressure. Our solution brings free childcare and self-care together in one place, allowing parents to take care of themselves, becoming happier and more effective parents in the process.

ACCESS TO NATURE
Second-class citizenship often denies people of color access to nature-spaces. Children in particular suffer from separation from nature. In Last Child In The Woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder, author Richard Louv identified some of the harms, including increased levels of depression, cognitive disabilities, obesity, and diabetes. (2005) Our circle heals children of some of these harms by immersing them in nature. By meeting outdoors, adults and children benefit from the natural stress-relief that comes from being in touch with fresh air, the earth, plants, and trees.

HOLISTIC WELLNESS
Holistic wellness does not take root in isolation. Relationships developed through Holistic Wellness Circle can be transformative for individual and family wellness. Children are invited to socialize, play, and experience group mindfulness. Parents, grandparents, and other caregivers of young children are able to take a break from childcare and focus on holistic wellness in partnership with other parents.

The social-emotional container of the adult circle, established through community agreements, encourages circle members to express themselves in a supportive and nonjudgmental environment. This safe space is also a brave space, allowing circle members to process thoughts, emotions, and experiences that otherwise they might not be able to process in isolation. As a result, every circle meeting is a healing activity, cultivating community trust, individual wholeness, and family unity.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, how do you sum up the impact of a village community on any one of its members? That is the overall impact of Holistic Wellness Circle: a village of families of color with children under 6, supporting each other in their shared needs of mental, emotional, and financial wellness. And there is no substitute for village.

Our team is living the realities of raising young children in a society that does not value care work despite its vital importance. Our leadership team is majority people of color.

Most of us are part of families with children under 6. Many of us are second-class citizens in terms of wealth, race, and ethnicity. We live in neighborhoods with below-average wealth, and we have limited access to convenient and affordable childcare. We understand the needs because we experience them ourselves.

In obtaining grant funding to test our solution, we did something unique. Instead of designing a program that pays only nonprofit staff, we designed a program that allocates the majority of funding to program participants. We did this with a hire-the-participant model. As we built the circle, we hired members to fill key roles. As of today, we have 9 part-time contractors on payroll, including a Program Director, Program Manager, Treasurer, Promoter, Evaluation Coordinator, Project Manager, and Childcare Team. Circle members fill 8 of the 9 roles.

Co-creation is central to the implementation of our solution. We have a weekly leaders meeting ahead of each Holistic Wellness Circle. Everyone has a voice in the meeting. Events are planned by consensus and funds are spent by consensus as well. Through a partnership with a professional mindfulness education company, we are also supporting training for several circle members to become certified mindfulness facilitators, positioning them to co-lead circles as we grow.

We should mention that our Program Director and Program Manager both have special expertise related to our solution. Pablo del Real has a Master's degree in teaching and has been teaching mindfulness and leading mindfulness groups for years. Program Manager Fernanda Wolfson has a Ph.D. in education with a specialty in early-childhood education and program evaluation.

Holistic Wellness Circle is very effective. We have created something that dozens of people love. Benefits are immediate AND long-term, financial and mental, emotional and social.

After 6 months of operating, team-building, and learning, we are beginning an intentional effort to grow our solution. This is our first application since piloting the project.

We need your help to standardize our solution and replicate it with high quality on a larger scale -- without losing its beauty and authenticity. Our solution prospers thanks to relationships. We know the right relationships can help our solution reach many more people and humanize the care economy. We think MIT Solve can catalyze some of the right relationships for growth.

One innovation is concurrent programming for parents and children. Our Holistic Wellness Circle offers wellness activities to both groups in the same place, at the same time, with the same purpose. This is a way for families with young children to experience peace of mind, solidarity, and personal growth together as families, with activities tailored to each age group.

A second innovation is our hire-the-participant model. We know that raising young children is expensive, even without the cost of childcare. We strengthen the finances of families with young children by hiring parents to deliver the program. This is a combination of mutual aid with charity.

Finally, our holistic approach to family wellness is also innovative. Stress, mental distress, and economic insecurity are linked, but very few programs address the intersections of these issues in a holistic way. There are two innovative aspects to this holistic approach.

• Mental wellbeing is collective. People do not achieve or enjoy mental wellbeing on their own. Treating one individual for mental wellbeing is like isolating a cell in the body. We might cultivate wellbeing in the cell, but if the cell is separated from other healthy cells, it cannot survive. People, like cells, need to be embedded in a healthy group to enjoy true and lasting wellbeing. So all the apps and telehealth solutions society can produce for individuals are coping mechanisms that don’t address key root-causes of illbeing, namely loneliness and economic insecurity.
• Economic security is a major determinant of mental wellbeing. The bottom 50-60% of taxpayers in the U.S. face constant anxiety, depression, and stress due to finances. Mental wellbeing programs can help the bottom half of taxpayers cope with constant ill-being, but they cannot eliminate toxic stress, anxiety, and depression tied to finances. Only economic security can do that.

Our holistic solution innovates on traditional mental health service by (1) widening its focus, from individual to group, and (2) by addressing material wellbeing through paid work and compassionate finance.

We strive to facilitate the maximum benefit for all members. In order to gauge our program's impact, we use both qualitative and quantitative methods of measurement. Since we are still developing, we have relied heavily on qualitative data.

Upon a person's first visit, and every 3 months thereafter, we use two tools: the Most Significant Change by R. Davis and J. Dart, which is a participatory tool to collect stories of those participating in a program, and the Mindfulness Awareness Attention Scale (MAAS), a Likert scale tool developed by K. Brown and R. Ryan.

The following are some excerpts from our Most Significant Change surveys: 

• The most significant change that I have noticed since participating is that it is more tranquil and easier to communicate with each other in our home. I have become more patient and accepting of my family's needs. My wife is much more easy-going and collaborative. My children are happier and able to speak more freely to me. I think we are overall happier since attending.

• While shy at first, we [parents] quickly noticed a difference in [our daughter's] interactions and communication. She became more social and engaged in group play. She developed a new appreciation for nature, its wildlife and eco-consciousness. But more importantly, she was able to express her thoughts and feelings with not only her parents, but her siblings as well.

• These small but powerful lessons have really helped to change our family and our dynamics in a very positive and healing way. We are more respectful to each other in our thoughts and in our actions. We spend much more time in nature together as a family.

• If we have questions or need guidance, we feel safe and welcomed in seeking support.

As we continue to grow and develop, we will be able to include more complex methods of measurements including longitudinal studies that can better demonstrate financial wellness and long-term impacts.

INPUTS

Leaders to manage and implement Holistic Wellness Circle

Nature-space with access to shelter and/or indoor space

ACTIVITIES

Weekly circle meeting with mindfulness at the center

Free childcare during circle meeting

Enrichment activities once or twice a month

Free childcare during enrichment activities

OUTPUTS

60 minutes of mindfulness per week for parents

10 minutes of mindfulness per week for children

60-90 minutes of contact with nature for parents

30-60 minutes of contact with nature for parents

Increase in trust and belonging for parents and children

Increase in mindfulness skill resulting in more wisdom and compassion

Decrease in stress, anxiety, and depression for parents and children

IMPACTS

More peaceful and joyful relationships

Healthier home environments for families

Resilience and prosperity through interconnected families

MINDFULNESS
The core technology driving Holistic Wellness Circle is the nourishing and healing energy of mindfulness. “Mindfulness is a mental mode characterized by attention to present-moment experience without conceptual elaboration or emotional reactivity.” (1)

Mindfulness frees us from our built-in negativity bias and its consequences. The average adult has anywhere from 6,000 to 60,000 thoughts every day (depending on how you define a thought). The number is debatable. But it's at least 6,000. And that is a lot of thoughts! (2)

Researchers also estimate that 60-80% of our thoughts are negative, and 85-95% of our thoughts are repetitive. (3)

Ouch.

We can have 5,000 to 50,000 negative thoughts -- today! Many of them the same thoughts we had yesterday, many of them false and useless. That is negativity bias.

If we don’t have a plan to manage negativity bias, negativity bias will manage us.

Just look at the news. It’s negativity bias on a mass scale.

Holistic Wellness Circle helps adults and children generate the energy of mindfulness for nourishment and healing, overcoming negativity bias in the process. At weekly mindfulness circle meetings, we spend 60-75 minutes generating the energy of mindfulness in the body, in the mind, and in the emotions.

These group practices have immediate effects on anxiety, sadness, stress, and loneliness, relieving them through regulation of the nervous system, renewal of neural networks, and simple belonging. Four group agreements – deep listening, loving speech, no fixing, and confidentiality – create an atmosphere of trust, order, camaraderie, and compassion.

GROUP MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness is best learned, taught, and embodied in authentic community. Authentic community includes economic solidarity, compassion, and belonging. Religious communities get this. Monks and nuns enjoy economic solidarity, compassion, and belonging. And they practice group contemplation for mental wellbeing.

Laypeople, however, cannot join religious communities due to family commitments and lifestyles. Yet the need among laypeople for economic solidarity and mental wellness is greater than ever. Mindfulness can be the bond of association that makes it possible for parents from all walks of life to join a mindfulness group, perceiving some of the benefits of a religious community without becoming a monk or nun.

(1) “‘We Are Talking About Practice’: the Influence of Mindfulness vs. Relaxation Training on Athletes’ Attention and Well-Being over High-Demand Intervals.”

(2) “Discovery of ‘thought worms’ opens window to the mind.”

(3) “Repetitive negative thinking in daily life and functional connectivity among default mode, fronto-parietal, and salience networks.”

Leaders of Holistic Wellness Circle are a diverse group:

• Project Director (Colombian-American)
• Project Manager (Mexican-American)
• Promoter / Storyteller (African-American)
• Treasurer (Korean-American)
• Evaluation Coordinator (Mexican-Italian American)
• Project Manager (Puerto-Rican-American)
• Childcare Team Member 1 (European-American)
• Childcare Team Member 2 (African-American)
• Childcare Team Member 3 (European-American)

Seven of the nine leaders are parents or grandparents of young children.

As people of color, we are intentional about serving other people of color, making our own population our primary focus, yet welcoming people of all races and ethnicities.

We know that racism, ethnic prejudice, and vast wealth gaps are part of unjust systems. We also know that unjust systems are held in place by six conditions:

With mindfulness skill and education as core elements of our circle, we can address our own mental models holding unjust systems in place. Through the creation of part-time jobs to lead and manage the Holistic Wellness Circle, we can increase the income of participants. This change to resource flows can make a dent in the edifice of systemic oppression.

One of the collaborations we are exploring is with Friends In Mindfulness. This is an emerging group that is working to provide compassionate finance to members of qualifying wellness / mindfulness circles. For example, Friends In Mindfulness offers hardship fund management for wellness circles, providing no-interest loans to people with high-interest debt, e.g., credit-card balances, car loans, payday loans, etc.

Friends In Mindfulness invites qualifying wellness circles to match hardship loan funds if possible. So if Friends In Mindfulness will make $5,000 available for a hardship fund, they encourage the wellness circle to match that amount. Since these funds are used to make no-interest loans, the circle would have access to them once loans are repaid. The goal is to make the hardship fund solvent in perpetuity. 

This is a revolutionary way to address systemic oppression and economic insecurity. Resource flows of interest-bearing loans are a major factor in extreme disparities in wealth. Eliminating burdensome interest is an effective way to disrupt this stubborn and oppressive resource flow that tends to favor wealthy people at the expense of working people, many of whom are people of color.

Our Holistic Wellness Circle provides mental wellness, economic security, and peace of mind.

FOR PARENTS

1. Learn mindfulness in a loving environment.

• We make this convenient by providing free childcare on site.
• We make it affordable by teaching group mindfulness, spreading the cost of professional facilitators across circle members and funders.

2. Financial safety net.

• We are building a freedom fund to provide members of Holistic Wellness Circle access to compassionate finance.
• We define compassionate finance as a no-interest loan made to a member for increasing their economic security. This is still in development with a partner organization.
• Circle members gain access to compassionate finance through regular attendance at the circle. Regular attendance is considered an average of twice a month every 3 months.

3. Admirable friends.

• Perhaps the most valuable service we provide is connection to other parents who value wisdom, solidarity, and a loving environment for their families.
• This is a valuable benefit with no additional cost.

FOR CHILDREN

• Play in nature with other children.
• Connections with more caring adults.
• Time with family in a loving environment outside of home.
• Parents who experience less stress, depression, and anxiety.

FOR CIRCLE LEADERS & FACILITATORS

• Part-time work at a decent pay rate.
• Expanded network of colleagues.

FOR SOCIETY & GOVERNMENT ENTITIES THAT SERVE CHILDREN

• Responsiveness to changing priorities and issues among children and families.
• Reduction or elimination of the need for more costly punitive and remedial services that may be needed later in a child’s life.

Our plan for financial sustainability includes three revenue streams: membership dues, grants, and donations.

1. Membership dues

Member dues are voluntary. For members who choose to pay, we have the following suggested dues levels based on annual income:

• $50K or less = $5-$10 per meeting
• $50K to $100K = $20-$40 per meeting
• $100K or more = $80-$160 per meeting

2. Grants

To cover start-up costs, we applied for and received a multi-year grant from a local government agency. We will continue to compete for grant funding to support program expansion.

3. Donations

At the end of each Holistic Wellness Circle, we invite donations to support circle expenses not covered by dues or grants, e.g., food and drinks, special events, etc.

In 2021, Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County awarded Soil & Soul a Community-Driven Innovation grant for Holistic Wellness Circle. The award is a three-year grant of $50K each year.