Using the HOPE framework to create concrete organizational improvements | Interview with Aimee Zeitz-Gruber, MFT [positiveexperience.org/blog]

The HOPE National Resource Center welcomes Aimee Zeitz-Gruber, MFT as our keynote speaker at the Fourth Annual HOPE Summit – The HOPE Transformation. She will present HOPE in Action on Thursday, March 21 from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET. Aimee Zeitz-Gruber is the Executive Director of Community Well-Being and Project Director of Partners in Prevention at the YMCA of San Diego County, where she has worked with the HOPE National Resource Center since 2020 to implement the HOPE framework in her organization. During her keynote address, she will discuss how the framework has made a difference in her work. She will share the importance of incorporating positive childhood experiences (PCEs) into multiple areas of the YMCA organization. We recently conducted an interviewed with Zeitz-Gruber to learn more.

HOPE – Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences is a flexible framework centered around the practice of positive childhood experiences (PCEs) that can be applied to many sectors and communities. What does HOPE look like to you and the community at the YMCA of San Diego County?

The HOPE framework has been embraced by multiple sectors in San Diego County, including health, social services, child welfare, and education providers. HOPE has resonated with so many people because it naturally aligns with efforts grounded in social determinants of health, protective factors, and strengths-based approaches. So many providers and practitioners can see themselves, their values, and their work in the Four Building Blocks of HOPE. HOPE in practice looks like deeply relational interactions, between peers, partners, supervisors, and program participants. It looks like always starting with where things are going well and then exploring opportunities to address where things are hard or needing more supports or resources. It is a different conversation from Adverse Child Experiences (ACEs), from being largely determinant, to being another source of information for establishing with families what they want and need. HOPE in action across sectors looks like more consistent experiences with providers in doctors’ offices, social service programs, and in communities.

You and your colleagues have implemented the HOPE framework throughout all levels at the YMCA including service delivery, staff engagement, and community partnerships. What changes have you seen since aligning your work with HOPE and PCEs?

The YMCA of San Diego County has been working on moving towards a more comprehensive, strengths-based service delivery approach for a few years now. We started by grounding our work in anti-racist, trauma-informed, and Strengthening Families frameworks and most recently integrated the HOPE framework. For many of our teams, HOPE brought these various frameworks together in a way that felt more integrated and actionable. The changes can be seen in more connected and compassionate interactions between staff, supervisors, and program participants. We have seen that when leaders are held and supported through a HOPE lens, they show up for their teams with a HOPE perspective and then staff engage with partners and program participants in ways that are aligned with HOPE’s values and standards. We have heard staff describe feeling more connected, honored, seen, and valued and that it has changed how they show up to do their work. We have also seen concrete changes in terms of updates to policies and practices like forms, documents, workflows, and more. HOPE has fostered a greater sense of mattering and belonging within our organization and with partners.

[Click here to read the full interview.]