Greetings from the
Executive Director,

It has been just one year since I joined the team of Lineage staff and board to help lead the organization towards further growth and development. It has been an exciting year and we have developed new initiatives, funders and added new board members.

A wonderful highlight was that The Lineage Project was featured in YOGA JOURNAL’s November, 2009 issue.

This article called " Peace on the Inside" features a quote from our founder, Soren Gordhamer on his experience working with incarcerated youth:

"With all their outward stuff taken from them-their families and friends, their clothes, their public identity, even their choice of food, kids are left with nothing but questions. 'Why am I here? How can I wake up from this nightmare? What can nobody take from me?"

"Incarcerated teens can be precociously inward looking. Yoga and meditation teaches these kids they're alive right now. A light comes on, and they discover how being present can free you from fear."

We are now teaching eleven classes per week and have watched many youth develop the inner awareness that will help them move forward productively in their lives. Our goal is to be teaching 15 classes by the end of 2010 and reaching over 900 youth. We have developed a gender-specific curriculum for the young women we serve. Since the great majority of services developed inside juvenile justice detention centers and jails are designed for young men, we are bringing an innovative and much needed approach to sharing awareness based practices for the specific needs of incarcerated girls.

We look forward to sharing the upcoming year with you!

Peace,
Beth Navon, ACSW, LMSW
beth@lineageproject.org

Our Program

The Lineage Project is one of the nation’s leading non-profit organizations providing alternative tools for physical, emotional and mental wellness to at-risk and incarcerated youth ages 10 to 21. Through the teaching of yoga and meditation to over 600 of these youth annually throughout New York City we provide a unique forum to cultivate resiliency and positive youth development, providing tools that can transform young lives.

We conduct our program in collaboration with local community- based organizations, schools, and New York City and State detention facilities. Our current community partners include, The New York State Office of Children and Family Services, The New York City Department of Juvenile Justice, The Fortune Society, Humanities Prep High School.

Over the past 12 years, we have held programs for youth in collaboration with many facilities including the Department of Correction's Adolescent Detention Center at Rikers Island, The Jewish Board of Children and Family Services, New York City Department of Juvenile Justice, and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. Although no longer working at Rikers and The Jewish Board of Children and Family Services we have recently added four new service sites, The Fortune Society, The Brooklyn Job Corps, Crossroads Juvenile Justice Facility, and Humanities Prep High School.

Professional Training Opportunities

We are pleased to announce that we are now offering our training to the public. Our workshops are appropriate for anyone currently interested in or working with incarcerated or at-risk youth. Participants should have some experience in the practice of yoga and/or meditation.

Help At Risk Youth with The Lineage Project Teacher Training

Date: Saturday, July 17, 2010 Time: 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. Held at: Urban Zen Foundation 711 Greenwich Avenue, NYC Cost: $100 This one day course will include an opportunity to learn the theory and practice of Lineage’s unique model designed to prevent youth from involvement with the criminal/juvenile justice system. Contact beth@lineageproject.org for more information or to register