Lewis and Clark & Ferris High School's Hope Squad receive local awards

SPOKANE, Wash. – Students at Lewis and Clark & Ferris High Schools are celebrating after receiving awards from a local nonprofit for their work in mental health awareness.

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The school's "Hope Squad" focuses on suicide prevention and uplifting the community. Every week, over 30 students nominated by their peers meet in their advisor's office during lunch to plan a minute-long segment for the L-C-T-V broadcast. This segment shares advice about mental health, available resources, and a compilation video of students smiling to uplift their community.

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The Hope Squad also organizes "Hope Week," where each day has a different theme to promote mental health awareness. One day is dedicated to wearing green, the color associated with mental health awareness, while another encourages students to dress like a trusted teacher to remind them of their support system.

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Additionally, Hope Squad students host "Hope Float Days," where they give out root beer floats to boost student spirits. Sophie Arneson, a junior and member of the Hope Squad, emphasized the group's positive impact. "We're just kind of that ray of sunshine in our school to just let people know that there is positivity in life, even if it's hard," she said.

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The recognition has excited Sophie and her peers as they look forward to continuing their positive influence in the future.

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Meanwhile, at Ferris High School, the Hope Squad is equally dedicated to supporting students. They have initiated the "Hope Tree," where students write what hope means to them or name someone who could help them in a crisis.

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The Ferris Hope Squad is assembled each year through a peer vote, selecting 30 students who meet every Monday during lunch. They are trained by a teacher to recognize signs of depression or suicidal tendencies and learn when and how to seek help.

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Ferris Hope Squad also plans "Hope Week" events, such as "Shade Out Negativity Day" and "Ferris Friendship Friday," to remind students of their resources.

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Gabby Byrd, a sophomore at Ferris, expressed her commitment to mental health awareness. "I think mental health is a really big important issue, especially in teenagers. So being able to make that really big difference is what hopes my purpose is," she said.

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The Ferris Hope Squad has already made nominations for the next school year and started planning their initiatives.

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More info on the awards here: https://www.spokaneschools.org/article/2180168

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Originally published at https://www.khq.com/news/lewis-and-clark-ferris-high-schools-hope-squad-receive-local-awards/article_83482cdc-56c1-4d4b-8e9d-1eee8092503c.html

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