The HOPE framework provides a roadmap to providing needed support
Holly Naylor had been an ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) trainer for a year when she learned about the HOPE framework that centers on prompting positive childhood experiences (PCEs). Naylor is the director of family prevention and education at LACASA, a nonprofit organization in Livingston County, Michigan, that provides services to survivors of child abuse, domestic violence and sexual violence. Much of Naylor’s time involves talking to people about trauma, which she says can be heavy for her and for the people involved. But the HOPE framework gives her a roadmap for how to support people.
“I thought that the HOPE framework really [brought] the follow-up to: What do we do now that we know about childhood trauma?’’ said Naylor.
She says that the experience of a HOPE-Informed training itself can be uplifting.
“I do a lot of child abuse and neglect trainings, which can be very heavy,” Naylor said. For her, it’s meaningful to be able to “go into a training and [know] that the people in the room are going to leave feeling encouraged and optimistic.”
Encouraging communities to practice the Four Building Blocks of HOPE in their own way
When she learned about a grant called “Trinity Health Ann Arbor and Livingston Investing in Our Community” she realized it would be the perfect opportunity to bring the HOPE training to her community.
“HOPE really gives the structure, the strength to answer that question. What we can do is look at the Four Building Blocks [that include relationships, environments, engagement, and emotional growth], figure out what’s going on in our community, what we can strengthen, what we need to add.”
The local training cohort funded by the grant included representatives from law enforcement, K-12 education, preschool, medical providers, disability advocates, libraries, faith communities, business communities, a pregnancy and early childhood nonprofit, and child care. So far, trainers from this cohort have trained 650 people in Livingston County on the Introduction to HOPE workshop, and countless more people have been impacted by those 650 knowing the importance of PCEs and taking that knowledge back to their communities.
Speaking about the diversity of the cohort, Naylor said: “I wanted to get people within different fields who could then go back to the folks they work with and speak the language so that hopefully people would connect with the material in a more natural way.”
Creating a HOPE-informed intake process
Naylor herself is a HOPE Champion and is working toward making LACASA a HOPE-Informed organization. Her HOPE Champion project involved bringing the HOPE framework to the nonprofit’s intake process. She worked with the shelter team to update the intake form to include questions about positive experiences. She held a small training for that staff about the HOPE framework and they spent time looking at the intake document through the HOPE lens.
“I had a discussion portion where under each of the Four Building Blocks, I asked them to think about questions that would be relevant for incoming residents within those Building Blocks.”
As a result of that process, the intake form now has a section called “HOPE Building Blocks Identified during intake.” For each of the Four Building Blocks, the form provides the intake staff person with examples that they can use in guiding the conversation. For example, under “Environmental Supports” it says: “One safe/stable space outside of shelter, ex: supportive job, school, religious location, or alternative safe/consistent/stable space.” Under “Emotional Supports,” the examples are “therapy, on mental health medication, attending support groups, overall increasing emotional self-awareness and self-regulation.”
Naylor wants the intake process to be an opportunity for staff to learn about the clients in a deeper way.
“What helps you to feel at home in a space? What activities help your child to feel comfortable in a new environment? What type of schedule would you like to establish?”
Spreading HOPE throughout the community and in unlikely spaces
Looking to the future, Naylor wants to tackle the organization’s three mission areas: adult services, children’s services, and administration. She’s trained a third of the staff so far. She is also excited for the ripple effects of having helped get so many people in her community trained. She says different fields have their own way of integrating the HOPE framework into their work.
“Some of the highlights from this grant process for me [are] reaching a few populations that don’t typically attend my training, so like the business community. [And] we have one trainer who’s a staff member of a school district, so they’ve currently trained all of the high school and all of the middle school staff, and they’re going to be going down to the elementary level, which is really cool.”
What does the HOPE framework look like in your work?
Do you have an amazing story to share on how you are using the HOPE framework in your work with children and families? Are you looking to start prompting positive childhood experiences? Reach out to us!
