Mental Health Resources 4 Underserved Communities

Frequent misbehavior. Highly energetic. Struggles to find positive motivation.

Everyone knows this student.

As a principal of a middle school in northwest Jacksonville from 2021-2017, I certainly ran into my share of students that fit the description above. We tried everything we could think of to make the situation better and to provide each of our students with what they needed to make them successful. Unfortunately, we often fell short and continued to fall short for the kiddos that really needed us the most.

In 2017, with this challenge in mind, I came across an article about a new nonprofit that had been founded in Jacksonville and was working with at-risk students. The approach the nonprofit was taking, immediately struck me as a possible solution to my problem. I reached out to Yoga 4 Change and I was thunderstruck by the founder, Kathryn Thomas’ passion and her conviction in the curriculum she was creating for the organization. It was very clear that this program was different than the yoga that I was familiar. Yoga 4 Change was about connection and healing and less about the shapes and stretching.

It didn’t take long for Yoga 4 Change to make a huge difference in the kids who participated. The simple act of thoughtfully controlling your breathing was a revolution to the culture of our school. Kids and teachers, who would often escalate situations when upset, were suddenly stopping and taking a deep breath, automatically diffusing many potential conflicts before they could even start.

This small experiment grew across the whole school, with the entire student body eventually participating in weekly Yoga 4 Change programming. Our teachers and families received professional learning from the organization, and we saw incredible improvements in student behavior and family engagement, as well as precipitous drops in serious incidents and suspensions.

Needless to say, I was a true believer in Yoga 4 Change.

After transitioning out of the school system, I was lucky enough to join the board of Yoga 4 Change, and over the past several years I have been continuously inspired by the impact the organization has had on the community. The change I saw in the students at my school is replicated across dozens of facilities around northeast Florida and I can confidently say that Yoga 4 Change has gotten even better as it’s gotten bigger. The growth we have seen across the state has been built on the solid foundation of our trauma-informed curriculum and our university-vetted data practices. These two elements set Yoga 4 Change apart and have allowed us tell a powerful story of impact that is based in data and participant testimonials.

As my time on the Board of Directors comes to a close, I am exceptionally excited about the direction of the organization under the leadership of Executive Director, Michelle LeClair. Since succeeding our founder, Michelle has hit the ground running and is leading our talented to team to even greater heights. Yoga 4 Change is serving increasingly more students in an ever-growing list of facilities across the state. I cannot wait to see what is next for Yoga 4 Change.

Written by former Board Chair, Warren Buck