CONNECTNation of Vibration’s L.A.vation Project: Bringing Healing, and Connection to Communities Across L.A
The L.A.vation Project brings healing circles, and other group-centered events to diverse schools, organizations, and communities throughout LA to encourage inspiration, engagement, and change.
Please describe your project proposal.
The L.A.vation project will CONNECT communities (including schools, businesses, activist organizations, non-profits, and other spaces) by organizing and facilitating different events and gatherings uniquely tailored to the community being served. The project creates unifying events designed for people to join together to heal and elevate their minds, bodies and spirits, while also promoting empowerment, engagement, and positive action within and between communities.
Which of the CONNECT metrics will your proposal impact?
Social & emotional support
Cultural events
Public/open streets gatherings
Rates of volunteerism
Total number of local social media friends and connections Angelenos have
In what areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
Central LA
East LA
South LA
Westside
City of Los Angeles
LAUSD
Describe in greater detail how your proposal will make LA the best place to CONNECT?
LA is one of the largest and most spread out cities in the country. It houses many diverse communities, but is also a place where many suffer from feeling lonely, isolated, and disconnected due to the vastness of the city. Recent studies show that rates of loneliness are increasing throughout LA, and bringing symptoms like anxiety, stress, and depression with it. This is undoubtedly affecting Angelenos’ physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well being and is likely to be a major factor in community wellness and overall engagement. In order to make LA the best place to be in 2050, we must CONNECT our people and communities with each other in new and innovative ways that promote empowerment and wellness, which lead to further strength, vitality, and engagement within communities.
Nation of Vibration’s (NOV) mission is to bring people together to connect in conscious, compassionate, and mindful ways with the collective intention of moving away from limited notions of ourselves and others, so we can come together to heal our communities, and the planet at large. The L.A.vation Project will do this by creating community-centered events that are focused on generating trust, accountability, and responsibility through practices that give people the tools to overcome anxiety and fears, so they have ways to engage deeply within society. Some of these events include, but are not limited to: cultural sensitivity and education trainings, meditation circles, yoga classes, conscious music, art, and wellness gatherings, and mindfulness workshops. NOV intends to bring these events to different schools, businesses, organizations, and communities throughout Los Angeles. Although our interest is to reach out to diverse communities across LA, we are especially focused on healing, organizing, and empowering inner-city communities, schools, and organizations that work with marginalized identities because alternative spaces like the L.A.vation Project are normally not accessible to these communities due to costs, location, and other factors.
Recent studies are showing the incredible effect that mindfulness, connection, and embodied practices have on improving work spaces, school environments, and the day-to-day interactions that people have with the world. It is only through collaboration that we will be able to create solutions to overcoming our isolation and lack of engagement in social, environmental, and political life. With LA being arguably one of the most creative and innovative cities in the world, it is our duty as Angelenos to set an example for the rest of the world. In order to elevate LA to where it needs to be in 2050 requires collective envisioning, creating, and action in new and transformative ways. This is why the L.A.vation project is so crucial to Angelenos lives; it will help many people to connect to one another in ways that go far beyond the existing norms.
Please explain how you will define and measure success for your project.
Social & emotional support- After each event we give participants practices to do on their own to help them create and sustain their own methods for healing and connection which supports the health and wellness of both the individual and the community they are a part of. We will have surveys and online chat rooms designed for people to engage and report on their feelings of support.
Cultural events - We honor the diversity within our communities and our gatherings offer creative, and innovative ways of bringing connection to people from all walks of life. Success for these events are influenced by the amount of attendees and the overall impact that the events are having on attendees and their communities. These impacts can be measured through post-gathering surveys and interviews.
Public/open streets gatherings - We plan to create two large, communal music, art, wellness, and cultural festivals that will bring together all the communities we’ve worked with and others. Each community will be able to contribute in some way which will ultimately show the power of community in co-creation. We will measure the success by how many communities decide to get involved and their enthusiasm in helping.
Rates of volunteerism- We intend for the large festivals to be volunteer based, and will track the number of volunteers helping out with each event. As our other events become larger we will also have volunteers help with setting up and breaking down spaces, and other tasks.
How can the LA2050 community and other stakeholders help your proposal succeed?
Money
Volunteers
Advisors/board members
Staff
Publicity/awareness
Infrastructure (building/space/vehicles etc.)
Education/training
Community outreach
Network/relationship support
Quality improvement research