Positive experiences can ease toxic stress and help children and youth grow into more resilient, healthy adults. Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences (HOPE) identifies ways that our communities and systems of care can better ensure that all children have more positive experiences and that all families have support to nurture and celebrate their strengths. The HOPE National Resource Center utilizes a national network of facilitators to collaborate with local partners to create a...

Five years ago, I wrote a blog for this site to encourage readers to engage in a different type of cookie exchange to spread comfort and warmth during a time of year that isn’t always experienced as “merry” or “joyful”. I’d like to revisit that 2019 post with a “HOPE-ful” lens… In their book, Fostering Resilient Learners , Kristin Souers and Pete Hall introduce a concept called “the cookie jar” – the art of giving praise. It’s part of human nature to rely on external feedback to develop a...