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Solutions serving:
Local & State Governments
Non-profit Organizations
Foundations & Funders
Local & National Initiatives
Neighborhoods
Collaborative Groups
Our Approach

Heliotrope seeds positive change by planning, consulting, training, facilitation, writing and coaching services to human and community development projects

1. A flower that turns
to face the sun.

Heliotrope champions promising change

Heliotrope uses strength-based approaches in every project.  We aim for what we want to achieve, not what we want to avoid.  We expand the possibilities and options to go beyond fixing the problem to creating success.

2. An instrument for making
long-tern observations.

Heliotrope believes in the future

Heliotrope focuses on partnerships that choose long-term solutions over short-term fixes. Together we can:

  • Assess conditions, develop strategic plans, and create the foundations for change.

  • Improve and strengthen human services and youth development programs.

  • Draw on strengths and capacities to reduce risks to the healthy development of children, youth, adults, families, and communities.

3. A purple that is bluer and
stronger than cobalt violet.

Heliotrope draws on strong convictions

  • People are a community’s most valuable resource.

  • Recognizing and building on the assets of people is essential for positive change.

  • Building assets requires integrity, skill, innovation, and a commitment to excellence.

  • Human development deserves the same dedication and risk-taking as putting a person on Mars.

About strength-based approaches

Strength-based approaches help us look for and seek to develop the skills, capacities, and potential in people, families, and neighborhoods.  Heliotrope employs several strength-based models, including:

  • Community assets: The gifts, abilities, and resources of people and the neighborhoods they live in.  Community assets include the often hidden energy and wealth in individuals, associations, and institutions.

  • Developmental assets: Forty concrete, positive experiences and qualities distilled by Search Institute to describe what kids need in the first two decades of life to reduce risks and succeed.

  • Protective factors: A variety of factors that appear to insulate children against the effects of risks (such as youth violence or substance abuse) to which they are exposed.

  • Resiliency: Strengths, experiences, and environmental conditions which allow children and adults to overcome or transcend adversity.

  • Youth development: The skills and competencies that adolescents need to successfully navigate today’s world.

Strength-based approaches can be tapped to provide more options and ideas for reaching a goal.  They can and should complement efforts to reduce risks and meet basic needs.  They often motivate growth and change in ways that attacking the problem head on cannot.  They are a critical and integral part of…

Solutions to strengthen people and communities

Our Expertise

 

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