News

H.O.P.E. campaign focuses on resilience

  • Published
  • By Joseph Mather
  • Robins Air Force Base Public Affairs

In April, the Integrated Resiliency and Prevention Program Office at Robins Air Force Base started the H.O.P.E. campaign to reinforce the four pillars of Comprehensive Airmen Fitness - mental, physical, social and spiritual.

“From our perspective, H.O.P.E. is not just a catchy phrase, it’s an acronym and a philosophy,” said Col. Brian Moore, Robins Installation Commander. “Optimism is a force multiplier, and within this campaign we have a lot of great people doing a lot of great things.”

The campaign was created to focus on battling the fears and anxieties of today’s Airmen.  H.O.P.E. – Help is available; Opportunity exists; People care; Expect good things – originally began as a way to give Airmen hope when they were at their lowest points. H.O.P.E. providers come from all walks of life and can be found around the installation.

One example of a H.O.P.E. provider is a community resiliency coordinator. They help to facilitate the H.O.P.E. campaign and can be easily identified by their green lanyards they wear which holds cards with numerous agencies to help Airmen for whatever they are dealing with.

“We help people and refer them to agencies to provide hope,” said Ron Dunn, a CRC who works with 402nd Commodities Maintenance Group. “We gather peer supporters, as well. That’s why we wear the green lanyard so they know who to look for. Not everyone is looking for help but we can provide resiliency training to build people back up in time of crisis.”

With social media sites continually talking about COVID-19, sometimes it can be too much, according to Senior Master Sgt. Camille Thomas, an integrated resiliency training assistant with the 461st Maintenance Squadron

“People have their own opinion from mixed sources, like Facebook, that can be overwhelming, and a lot of people do not know what to believe,” said Thomas. “We are trying to bring those stress levels down by saying hey, you can control what you can control and take care of what you can and the rest will fall in place.”

Robins leadership and the Robins Resiliency and Prevention Program Office also took the opportunity during this Robins Proud session to bring up a new campaign for the month of June.

The Sexual Assault Prevention Response Team is spearheading a #WhyWeAdvocate social media campaign for the month of June.

“With this series we want to emphasis help is available always,” said Angele Devezin, Robins Air Force Base Sexual Assault Prevention Response Program manager. “But during this time especially we want reflect on why we do what we do to make the world a little bit better.

Throughout the month, the SAPR team will be going around the installation and showcasing Team Robins individuals declaring why they advocate.