Hope Squad has returned to William Henry Harrison High School, but with minor revisions. You may have noticed the Hope Squad board mounted on the wall as you’re walking to the cafeteria, but do you really know what Hope Squad is? Hope Squad is a suicide prevention program that trains a group of students to recognize warning signs in their peers and how to respond in a mental health crisis situation. Those who are in Hope Squad were nominated by their peers when asked who they would feel comfortable talking to if they were in need of support.
All students have the ability to request a meeting with one of the Hope Squad’s members if they are in need of talking to someone about something they may be going through. Hope Squad has always aimed to allow students the space to feel comfortable with being able to speak to their peers about things that could be bothering them. Sometimes it’s hard for teenagers to talk to adults about their personal predicaments, so Hope Squad gives students the opportunity to speak with someone that is closer to their age level.
Originally, Hope Squad was run as an organization that met a couple times a month. During those meetings, they planned events to raise awareness about mental health and boost school morale, spoke about self-care, anti-bullying, and ways to improve school culture. Starting in the 2024-25 school year, Hope Squad will instead meet as a class and go through a renomination process as many of the current members were originally nominated in junior high.
Although Hope Squad has made some revisions, the reason behind Hope Squad remains. The main change is that the program is now a class. “The administration and advisors talked to other schools in the area who have strong Hope Squads to see what they do differently than us. In many cases, those schools were running Hope Squad as a class,” Hope Squad advisor Mrs. Forsthoefel explains. During the pause of Hope Squad, time was taken to discover new ways to improve the program. “The pause allowed us to reevaluate how our Hope Squad was being run and come up with a plan to improve the organization. We want it to be as beneficial for the community as possible,” said Mrs. Forsthoefel.
If you find yourself or others struggling, don’t be afraid to reach out to Hope Squad for a shoulder to lean on or someone to talk to, and look out for our new and revamped Hope Squad this upcoming school year.
