HOPE Consortium
Empowering youth-serving agencies to focus on Positive Childhood Experiences and build better long-term outcomes for our community's children.
Visit the HOPE Consortium WebsiteUpcoming Event
Kickoff Meeting
92 N. Main Street, Washington, PA 15301
All youth-serving adults are welcome. Participation in the HOPE Consortium is free.
About the HOPE Consortium
SW PA Teen Outreach announces the formation of the HOPE Consortium — a collaborative network of community youth-serving agencies united by a shared commitment to Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) and long-term wellbeing for every child in southwestern Pennsylvania.
A Certified HOPE Informed Organization
Teen Outreach is a Certified Hope Informed Organization through HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences). Two Teen Outreach professional staff, Amy Podgurski-Gough and Heather Crowe, are certified HOPE Facilitators, and Heather Crowe is in training to become a HOPE Champion.
The HOPE Framework
The HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) framework is a strengths-based, research-informed approach that focuses on how Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) contribute to healthy development and long-term wellbeing. Central to the framework are the four Building Blocks of HOPE, which represent key areas of a child's life that, when supported, foster resilience and thriving. Studies demonstrate how PCEs can ease the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), which have been shown to negatively affect physical and mental health through adulthood.
Seven Positive Childhood Experiences
Research identifies seven PCEs shown to lower depression, substance use, and long-term negative adult health issues:
- 1Ability to talk with family about feelings
- 2Feeling supported by family in difficult times
- 3Engagement in community activities
- 4Feeling a sense of belonging in high school
- 5Feeling supported by friends
- 6Having at least two non-parent adults who genuinely care
- 7Feeling safe and protected by an adult at home
Our Purpose
The purpose of the Teen Outreach HOPE Consortium is to empower youth-serving agencies to focus on PCEs, to collaborate with initiatives that enable PCEs to be significant parts of a child's life, and to work together to provide better long-term outcomes for our community's children.
The HOPE Consortium is sponsored by SW PA Teen Outreach.