Hope Squad holds conference at Preble County high school

Dayton, Ohio (WDTN) – On Tuesday, Preble Shawnee High School hosted the area’s first Hope Conference for all Hope Squads in the area.

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Hope Squad is a student-led, peer-to-peer counseling and suicide prevention program that aims to create a space in schools where students look out for one another and spread awareness on mental health issues.

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While the program started in Utah over 20 years ago, Hope Squad has spread to over a thousand schools between the United States and Canada.

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The conference brought together Hope Squads from Preble County and surrounding counties with the goal of inspiring students and educating them on a variety of mental health topics.

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The conference was made up of 18 breakout sessions, each led by a different instructor that told their story and made students think hard on what it means to be kind or resilient.

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One such instructor was Shawn Ruebush, an assistant football coach at National Trail High School and debut author of “Turning Pain into Purpose.” After losing his grandfather when he was young and losing his father when he was even younger, Ruebush spoke to members of the Hope Squad about the pain of suppressing emotions and how grateful he is to still be here now.

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“There’s so many people that are in such worse situations than all of us right here and it makes you feel grateful about your life,” Ruebush said. “I used to be embarrassed about my life. Now I get to share an amazing story with kids like you and other adults. I’m blessed.”

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Organizing the Hope Conference was Michelle Gebhart, owner of Gebhart Counseling Solutions in Eaton.

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In addition to her job as a mental health therapist, Gebhart is a Hope Squad advisor and assists in running all Preble County Hope Squads.

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She’s been a member ever since Hope Squads were introduced to Preble County high schools in 2019 and has since aided in expanding the program to middle schools in the region as well.

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The Hope Conference had a turnout of over 300 kids with more that 30 adult Hope Squad advisors and Gebhart wishes to expand it further.

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“This seems to be going very well today,” Gebhart said. “The students seem to be gaining a lot and they’re enjoying it, so I do hope to continue that, maybe with more participation and expansion with other squads in the area.”

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While the conference is a learning experience for Hope Squad students, Gebhart states that it also acts as a celebration of everything they do.

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“This conference is really about giving back to the Hope Squad students,” Gebhart said. “They do a lot of important and difficult work with their peers in the school so we wanted to make this day for them.”

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While Gebhart acts as a head for Preble County Hope Squads, she emphasizes that she wouldn’t be able to do what she does without the help of her team.

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Originally published at https://www.wdtn.com/news/hope-squad-holds-conference-at-preble-county-high-school/