Hope Squads on alert for suicidal teens
The Herald JournalFeb 25, 2018
If you or a loved one is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the 24-Hour National Suicide Prevention Hotline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or download the SafeUT app to communicate with mental health professionals at the
“Almost the whole room went up there, and it just kind of shocked me, and I didn’t want that to happen ever again,” Vejar said. “I just wanted to fix it.”
When the junior at
She said every teenager goes through a time where they need help. Members of the Hope Squad are there to remind those students that someone cares. That there is hope.
“We’re just here for everyone,” she said.
Hope Squads aren’t a new concept in
In
Saving lives can be a burden, and the members of Hope Squads aren’t going it alone. Students in local schools with newly-formed Hope Squads have all received training from the
“They’ve found that when you’re direct about it, you usually get an honest answer and people are more likely to open up,” Silcox said.
The next step is to persuade. Silcox said that means persuading the student not to take their life, listening to the problem and convincing them to get help. Finally, Hope Squad members are trained to refer the student to an adult. Silcox said that could be a school counselor, social worker, parent, teacher or even the SafeUT app, which anonymously connects students with mental health professionals at the
After that initial training, Hope Squads typically meet up several times a month for more instruction.
Gunther said it might sound selfish, but sometimes it’s important to take a step back before helping others.
“You do kind of have to think of yourself first,” she said. “If I’m not in a mentally prepared spot to be able to help this person, then maybe it would be best to have somebody else bring them in.”
Fortunately, Green Canyon has three counselors and two social workers for Hope Squad members to refer students to.
“With suicide, since it’s such a heavy topic, we don’t want them to feel like they’re the ones who are keeping their friend from having a suicidal inclination or keeping their friend safe,” school social worker
Referring students to qualified adults is just one role that Hope Squad members play. Gunther said they also want to reverse the stigma that discussing mental health is off limits. By talking about suicide, being visible around the school and putting on events, they want to let students know that it’s OK to talk about suicide and it’s not their fault for feeling down.
“Making it a place where there’s not really any stigma,” Gunther said. “If you need to go to the counselors, that’s chill, we’re still friends and I’m not going to treat you any differently.”
Utah Lt. Gov.
“It means we need to have conversations about suicide; they can’t be taboo,” Cox said. “It’s something that we should be talking about more.”
Gov.
In addition to suicide being a leading cause of death among teens in
To help bring the issue to light, Cox said he has a personal goal to always mention suicide when he meets with teens. Just this week he met with a group of 30 students at the
He told the students that, statistically, five or six of them have thought about suicide over the past year. If they are feeling hopeless, he said it’s important to talk to someone — anyone — whether it’s a parent, teacher, friend or even himself. As the group was leaving, he said a girl grabbed him and asked for a hug.
“She whispered in my ear, ‘I’ve been thinking about it,’ and started crying and we talked and we got her with teachers, got some help,” Cox said. “Those conversations just need to be standard conversations.”
The statistics may be grim, but Cox said he feels optimistic now more than ever because there is momentum to talk and take action.
“When top policymakers and religious leaders and the gay community, when we’re all at the table together, the odds of finding solutions and reaching more people increase dramatically,” he said.
“We have that opportunity to completely, or pretty close to completely, wipe that stigma, and I think that’s awesome,” Matthews said.
Green Canyon counselor
But now, he said, we live in a much more open society. With 30 Hope Squad members walking through the halls each day, he said it doesn’t necessarily make his job easier, but it does give him peace of mind.
“There’s a few more people out there that if they walk by somebody in the hall and they’re over there in tears in the corner, that if I don’t see that person and stop and say something, maybe Rachel will or maybe Patrick will,” Fullmer said.
With more eyes and ears at a school, Fullmer said, there are more chances to not only spot teens who may be suicidal — they could also prevent a potential school shooter. When more students are reaching out to people in need and providing hope, Fullmer said it’s like adding more links to a chain.
“Not everyone of them is going to be stopped, as we can see, but I think the more of those you put in the bank, the more likely you are to stop something crazy like that from happening,” Fullmer said, referring to the recent school shooting in
But the main goal of Hope Squads is to focus on bringing hope to schools. Gunther, the Green Canyon Hope Squad president, said it’s important to let students know that there are resources out there and having a mental illness doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you.
“This isn’t the end of the world; it’s not going to last forever,” Gunther said. “We can take care of this — we’ll help you take care of it.”