Mindful Moment: Teaching Accessible Coping Skills to Navigate the New Normal & Build a Resilient Community 

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

The stress of the lasting pandemic and gaps in mental health services made people overwhelmed and unable to deal with their emotions in a healthy way. An opportunity was identified to teach mindfulness tools and coping skills to individuals, so they could feel empowered to better navigate life’s challenges. In response, the Miami-Dade Public Library System created a new weekly program, Mindful Moment, to address the community’s mental, physical, and emotional needs. This not only complemented other county services, but also met the library’s first strategic goal to “Provide extraordinary services and customer experiences with great spaces, collections that exceed expectations, technology that is convenient and intuitive and programs and events that are easily accessible and desired by the public.” Mindful Moment provides an excellent service to the community by teaching scientifically proven mindfulness techniques. The information presented helps participants understand thoughts, feelings and actions and gives them tools to deal with everyday stressors in a successful manner. Each program ends with a guided group meditation, where individuals instantly feel the positive effects of practicing mindfulness. Since its inception in March 2021, Mindful Moment has reached hundreds of people, helping them establish healthy coping mechanisms and create a resilient community.