Belonging, Meaning, Wellbeing & Purpose: A Primer
Aspen Forum for Community Solutions
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Table of Contents
BMWP: A Path Forward…………………………………..3
WHY BMWP? ………………………………………….....5
Benefits of BMWP………………………………………...6
Belonging…………………………………………………7
Belonging Pyramid: An Overview………………………...8
Belonging in Practice……………………………………...9
Belonging Exemplar……………………………………...10
Meaning…………………………………………………..11
Meaning Pyramid: An Overview…………………………12
Meaning Making in Practice……………………………...13
Meaning Exemplar…………………………………….…14
Wellbeing………………………………………………..15
Wellbeing Pyramid: An Overview……………………….16
11 Domains of Wellbeing………………………………..17
The Road to Wellbeing…………………………………...18
Wellbeing Exemplar……………………………………...19
Purpose…………………………………………………...20
Purpose Pyramid: An Overview…………………………..21
Purpose: Strategies………………………….…………....22
Purpose Exemplar………………………………………...23
Review: BMWP Core Concepts…………………………...24
BMWP Strategy……………………………………….…25
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BMWP: A Path Forward
About Us
The Aspen Forum for Community Solutions (Aspen FCS) has been a beacon of hope and a leader in the effort to end youth disconnection for over a decade. At the heart of our work is the Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF), our flagship initiative that connects over 40 local collaboratives dedicated to the success of young adults aged 16-24 who are not engaged in work or school. These remarkable OYF members serve regions where more than 900,000 opportunity youth reside. Our decade-long journey includes partnerships with urban, rural, and tribal communities, all with the common goal of expanding pathways to reconnect these youth and transform systems to enhance educational and employment outcomes. Our particular focus has always been on youth and young adults of color. And our impact is undeniable, as our efforts contributed to a nearly 25% reduction in the number of Opportunity Youth across the country.
What We Do
As our name denotes, the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions values the expertise of impacted youth and communities and their collective capacity to generate solutions to the challenges facing Opportunity Youth. Thus, we have made significant investments in our shared learning alongside our OYF partners including young people, community-based organizations, postsecondary institutions and funders. Through this process we have surfaced a new framework that is responsive to the burgeoning challenges faced by Opportunity Youth and other marginalized youth that stem from their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic, the present political climate and various systemic challenges. Belonging, meaning, wellbeing and purpose (BMWP) is the emergent framework that has grown out of our work together, and it provides us (and other key stakeholders) with direction on how to transform systems and practice for the benefit of impacted young people and communities.
BMWP: A Path Forward
BMWP: An Emergent Framework
Aspen FCS is changing the way key stakeholders discuss, define and address the challenges and promise of Opportunity Youth across the nation. This calls for a major narrative shift about Opportunity Youth that acknowledges their value and potential in our communities and society, and that centers our collective responsibility to ensure that the systems and institutions in which they are engaged are working effectively to make sure they can thrive. The belonging, meaning, wellbeing and purpose (BMWP) framework helps to focus our efforts on evidence-based interventions that have long-term impacts on young people,. It also offers systems-change strategies that set “big goals” for all young people, and it establishes targeted strategies that meet young people’s unique needs. What’s more, the framework involves the very youth we aim to support in these systems-change efforts. BMWP provides a pathway to establish both shared priorities and customizable strategies for each community in the Opportunity Youth Forum and offers us an explicit and meaningful vision for the next phase of our work.
How to use this Primer
This primer is designed to provide a high-level overview of the BMWP framework. The Table of Contents provides links to each section and page numbers are hyperlinks that take you back to the Table of Contents. The Primer begins with a case for BMWP and the broad outcomes and benefits of BMWP. Each construct of BMWP has its own section that provides key definitions, examples of how BMWP is operationalized across the Opportunity Youth Forum, exemplars of the construct, strategies associated with each construct and related measurement tools. In the wellbeing section, there is additional context provided regarding the domains of wellbeing most frequently mentioned in the adolescent wellbeing literature reviewed, and insights on the factors that influence youth wellbeing. The primer closes with a summary of the core concepts and our long-term vision for BMWP. There are hyperlinks throughout the document to connect to useful information or source material and websites to learn more. Consider this Primer to be an introduction to the BMWP framework and a resource to begin to unpack these important constructs.
WHY BMWP?
Benefits of BMWP
Belonging | Meaning | Wellbeing | Purpose |
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*Wellbeing is a framework and an outcome |
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BELONGING
“[T]his…is about reclaiming and living and practicing belonging where no humans and no life are outside the circle of concern.” – john powell
DEFINITION
Having a meaningful voice and
opportunity to participate in the design of
political, social and cultural
structures that shape one’s life”
BELONGING
*THEMES
(Belonging Practices across the OYF)
Co-Creation; Decision--Making;
Collecting & Informing Feedback; Youth-Led;
Access to Opportunity
MEASURES
Belonging Barometer ᐧ General Belongingness Scale ᐧ Sense of Belonging Instrument ᐧ Psychological Sense of School Membership
Social Belonging refers to the feeling that you matter to the group, that you are valued for who you are and what you bring (Nunn, 2021)
*Themes refers to the practices currently implemented most frequently by OYF Partners.
Belonging in Practice
*Youth-Led
*Feedback
*Barrier Removal/ Opportunity
*Decision Making
*Co-Creation
Mentoring
Narrative Shift
Outreach
Check-Ins
Representation
*Denotes a common practice
in OYF
NXT LEVEL YOUTH OPPORTUNITY CENTER- PATH BUILDERS & SAN ANTONIO YOUTH COUNCIL
NXT Level Youth Opportunity Center
San Antonio Youth Commission
Belonging Exemplar
MEANING
“Wise interventions change meanings to change behaviors. -Lisa Quay
DEFINITION
The ways in which people make sense of
themselves, others and social situations (Walton & Wilson, 2018)
MEANING
*THEMES
Active Reflection ⠄Increasing Commitment Through Action⠄ Prompting New Meanings ⠄Therapy ⠄Cultural Lens ⠄Mentoring/ Rites of Passage
MEASURES
Improved outcomes associated with the meaning making interventions implemented
*Themes refers to the practices currently implemented most frequently by OYF Partners.
Meaning Making in Practice
*⧫Active Reflection/
Planning
(Reframing one’s perspective on a situation by responding to structured writing prompts;
Envisioning and aspiring to future, possible selves)
*Youth Organizing/YPAR
*⧫Prompting New Meanings
(Provide new information that people can draw from to make sense of themselves, a situation or others, e.g., reframing negative experiences as things that happened to you, not because of you.
*Therapy
⧫Ethnic Studies
(Culturally relevant to identity and experience)
*⧫Mentoring/ Rites of Passage
(Cultural based, structured mentoring)
* Denotes interventions commonly used in OYF
⧫ Denotes interventions that were found to be most impactful your young people at higher disadvantaged schools (Arnold, 2021).
STUDENT BLUEPRINT FOR SARAH T. REED
(Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association)
Meaning Exemplar
WELLBEING
“The future of wellbeing coming out of this process is that we will be able to create policy that supports wellbeing for our communities, and have the data to back it up. We will be able to implement more specific programs that foster wellbeing.”
-Shaquana Boykin
DEFINITION
Adolescents have the support, confidence,
and resources to thrive in contexts
of secure and healthy relationships,
realizing their full potential
and rights (Ross, et al., 2020).
WELLBEING
*THEMES
Financial & Economic Wellbeing • Social, Cultural and Community Connectedness (relationships/belonging) • Health & Wellbeing • Learning & Education • Healthy Families & Communities • Safe & Just Communities • Youth Voice & Civic Engagement • Policy/Advocacy
MEASURES
Quality of life indicators (e.g., Kids Count, NOYA Youth Wellbeing Data Dashboard), Wellbeing Indicator Tool for Youth (Ind’l assessment), Bhutan Global National Happiness Index, etc.
*Themes refers to the domains of wellbeing OYF Partners address most frequently
11 Domains of Youth Wellbeing
Financial Wellbeing
Social, Cultural and Community Connectedness
Health & Wellbeing
Learning & Education
Healthy Families & Communities
Safe & Just Communities
Youth Voice & Civic Engagement
Immigrant Justice
Environmental Justice
Agency & Resilience
Racial & Ethnic Equity
(Most Common Domains of Wellbeing}
Wellbeing
Personal
Relational
Resources
Opportunities
The Road to Wellbeing
Youth wellbeing requires that young people have the relationships, resources and opportunities needed to facilitate their personal development and the desirable outcomes necessary for them to thrive.
Individual Libraries
NEW ORLEANS YOUTH MASTER PLAN
(New Orleans Children & Youth Planning Board)
Wellbeing Exemplar
PURPOSE
“(Purpose)It is a center of gravity for the various aspects of who we are and where we are heading.”-Anthony Burrow
DEFINITION
Purpose refers to one’s desire and
intention to achieve something that
is significant to one’s life and of
consequence to the world in which
one lives (Damon, Menon, & Bronk, 2003).
PURPOSE
THEMES
Purpose Exploration
Purpose Awareness
Revised Youth Purpose Survey ᐧ Pathways to Purpose Survey ᐧ Self-Reported Experiences, i.e., Reflections from Purpose Interventions
*Themes refers to the practices currently mentioned most frequently by OYF Partners.
Purpose Strategies
Purpose exploration,awareness and commitment are part of the process of purpose development. The following are experiences and strategies associated with these aspects of purpose development.
CONTRIBUTION PROJECT
(Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research)
Purpose Exemplar
Review: BMWP Core Concepts
Belonging | Meaning | Wellbeing | Purpose |
Structural Belonging: having a meaningful voice and opportunity to participate in the design of political, social and cultural structures that shape one’s life” (Othering and Belong Institute, n.d.).; Those that belong have and express “the right to both contribute and make demands upon society and political institutions” (Othering and Belonging Institute, n.d.). Social Belonging: Feeling of being respected, accepted and valued (Goodenow & Grady, 1993); “feeling that you matter to a group and that you are valued for what you bring and who you are” (Nunn, 2021, p. 15). The three dimensions of belonging are social connectivity, psychological safety, and agency and co-creation (Argo & Sheikh, 2023). | Meaning-Making: The ways in which people make sense of themselves, others and social situations; the lens through which one examines oneself and one’s world (Walton & Wilson, 2018). Meaning-Making/Meaning-Based/Wise Interventions: Interventions that alter the way people see themselves and their world in order to influence them to operate more constructively in the world (Brockner & Sherman, 2019). The way a person interprets (sees) themselve, others and the world around them influences their responses and behavior. | Wellbeing: The absence of intergenerational trauma (Fresh Tracks, 2023); Adolescents have the support, confidence, and resources to thrive in contexts of secure and healthy relationships, realizing their full potential and rights (Ross, et al., 2020). Subjective Wellbeing: Positive mental health (Ross, et al., 2020) [i.e., “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” (World Health Organization, 2004)]. Structural Wellbeing: “A system of public policies, institutional and inclusive practices, cultural representations and other norms that establish a sense of belonging and work to strengthen families, communities and individual well-being for positive life outcomes”; the opposite of structural racism (Burns Institute, 2022). Note: Wellbeing is a framework and an outcome | Purpose: One’s desire and intention to achieve something that is significant to one’s life and of consequence to the world in which one lives (Damon, Menon, & Bronk, 2003). Purpose is also defined as a self-organizing and prospective life aim (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009). Purpose Exploration: An existential process in which one considers their purpose in life through a variety of reflection and explorative processes, e.g., “Who am I?” (Summer, Burrow & Hill, 2018). Purpose Awareness: One’s consciousness and recognition of their purpose in life as well as their capacity to articulate their purpose in life( Summer, Burrow & Hill, 2018). Purpose Commitment: Finding and settling on a direction for one’s life. (Summer, Burrow & Hill, 2018) |
BMWP Strategy
Our vision is to improve life outcomes for youth and young adults of color with Belonging, Meaning, Wellbeing, and Purpose strategies to improve pathways, structures, systems and narratives in our communities and our country, expanding justice and strengthening our democracy.
THRIVING
YOUTH
Deepening
Investments
Narrative
Change
Assessing
Impact
Transforming
Systems
Transforming
Practice
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