Name: Andrea Gorzell Hickey
Project Title: The David Lynch Foundation is partnering with the NYC Family Justice Center to help heal and empower 40 women and 10 children who are domestic violence survivors, as well as 20 professional staff who support them, through Transcendental Meditation.
Institution: David Lynch Foundation For Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace
Award Year: 2013 Award Amount: $58,573
DETAILED PROJECT SUMMARY The DLF has partnered with the NYC Family Justice Centers (FJC) to teach Transcendental Meditation to victims of domestic violence at its Brooklyn site. The DLF will offer TM to women and children who have experienced intense trauma, as well as the staff who work with these women and children on a daily basis and are so deeply impacted by the stories of abuse. The NYC Family Justice Centers are a public-private partnership initiative of the NYC Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence. The Centers help guide domestic violence victims to a life free of violence by co-locating essential social, self-sufficiency, criminal justice and legal services under one roof. The FJC aid 1,300 women and children each month.
The DLF has already conducted a pilot project with the FJC that included Commissioner Yolanda Jimenez, key staff members from each of its three locations, as well as survivors of domestic violence and their children. The potential synergies between the work of the FJC and the DLF were initially highlighted by Carol Kurzig, President of the Avon Foundation for Women, who first suggested that DLF reach out to Yolanda Jimenez, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence. Upon witnessing the impact of the pilot project, Commissioner Jimenez requested that the David Lynch Foundation bring an expanded program to the Brooklyn Family Justice Center (BFJC). The BFJC and DLF are confident that this model will inspire similar partnerships at other NYC FJCs and domestic violence support facilities nationwide.
The pilot project has demonstrated that TM is effective in helping women deal with their trauma, while taking on the tremendous task of rebuilding their lives after leaving their abusers, and thus warrants expansion so that more women and children can experience its profound impact. The proposed program at the BFJC will bring TM to 20 staff, 40 survivors and 10 of the women's children. TM instructors will attend BFJC staff meetings during the first week of each month to give short presentations on TM to caseworkers, counselors, legal advisors, and other staff. These staff members will have the opportunity to learn TM not only for their own wellbeing, but so they can refer clients who they believe will benefit from TM. DLF will lead four TM courses over six months at the BFJC. Two certified TM instructors -- who have been specially trained to work with victims of trauma -- will teach the courses and will facilitate weekly group meetings and individual check-in sessions. Courses will be taught in English and Spanish. Pre- and post-tests will measure changes in symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and more. Learning TM will help these brave survivors recover from abuse and more effectively take advantage of BFJC's numerous supportive services, and move forward with their lives, as well as help the staff better serve their clients. Children in the program, many who suffer from depression, anxiety, insomnia, and other symptoms, will improve their resilience and coping skills and help them to reclaim their childhoods.