The Hope Squad is peer-to-peer suicide prevention program. The program’s main goal is to reduce youth suicide through education, training, and peer intervention. The program includes evidence-based training that changes how schools approach mental health and suicide prevention.
Hope Squad members are nominated by their classmates as trustworthy peers and trained by advisors. They are trained to take action when someone is struggling. Instead of waiting for a peer to come to them, Hope Squad members are the ones to reach out first. They learn to show empathy to their peers, listen without judgment, and reduce stigma regarding help-seeking and mental illness. We advocate for maintaining healthy boundaries, building resilience, and avoiding burnout.
Hope Squad Goals:
- Create a safe school environment
- Promote connectedness
- Support anti-bullying
- Encourage mental wellness
- Reduce mental health stigma
- Prevent substance misuse
Members meet during lunch every other week and learn how to build trust through friendship, how to care for others, and how to be empathetic to others and their situations. Hope Squad is in 35 states and Canada and in over 1,200 schools.
Hope Squad Advisor: Mrs. Lindsey Castro
