This program is for youth who are 4 to 12 years old and their caregivers, including parents, teachers, school administrators, and child care providers.

Journey of Hope (JOH), a school- or community-based program, is designed to help children learn to recognize, express, and manage their emotions; develop resilience; and build protective factors to help them handle traumatic experiences, such as natural disasters, poverty, loss of home or stressful home environments, change of schools, and community violence.

Two quasi-experimental studies were conducted with youth who had been impacted by tornadoes in Oklahoma and in Alabama. Posttest results indicated that participants in the intervention groups experienced increases in positive coping skills and in prosocial behaviors compared to participants in wait-list control groups. There were no significant differences between groups for conduct problems, emotional distress, peer problems, problem-solving, personal development, or general self-efficacy.

JOH intends to help youth understand and normalize their feelings, build and strengthen their self-esteem, and develop positive coping skills. The program encourages youth to create healthy relationships with caring adults and peers and fosters a sense of hope in youth that can empower them to feel more in control. The program includes activities, such as games, dialogue, group problem-solving, journaling, art, music, dance, and role-play. Sessions are delivered to groups of 8 to 10 youth, and address the following:

• Session 1 – Introduction: creating safety;
• Session 2 – Fear: understanding and coping;
• Session 3 – Anxiety: understanding and coping;
• Session 4 – Sadness: understanding and coping;
• Session 5 - Anger and aggression: understanding and coping;
• Session 6 – Bullying: understanding and coping;
• Session 7 – Self-esteem and taking action; and
• Session 8 – Me, my emotions, and my community.

A workshop is available for caregivers that intends to help them process their feelings, consider coping strategies, and identify community resources to better support their children. JOH can be implemented in schools, child care centers, and community organizations during the school year or as a summer camp.

Save the Children created JOH in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. The program has been implemented since 2007 and has reached more than 85,000 children across the United States and internationally in Canada, New Zealand, Spain, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

A train-the-trainer model is used to implement this program. Facilitators should be master's-level mental health professionals (i.e., counselors, social workers, or psychologists) who have experience working with children. Please use details in the Contact section to obtain more information on training and costs.

Considerations for implementing this program include acquiring buy-in from school administration, teachers, parents, and the community; recruiting facilitators and ensuring they complete training; making time for lessons in an existing classroom curriculum or summer camp program; finding suitable locations to hold program activities and acquiring materials, such as art supplies; and providing child care during the parent workshop.

The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

If you are interested in implementing JOH, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

JOH consists of eight 1-hour sessions that are delivered for 1 to 6 months. The parent workshop is 3 hours.

Information on implementation costs was not located. Please use details in the Contact section to learn more.

To move JOH to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.

The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu

You may also contact Save the Children by mail 501 Kings Highway East, Suite 400, Fairfield, CT 06825, phone 1-203-221-4000, email supportercare@savechildren.org or JOH@savechildren.org, or visit https://www.savethechildren.org/us/about-us/contact-us

https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/protection/child-protection and Powell and Bui (2016).