Thornapple Kellogg students are ‘boots on the ground’ for mental health awareness

A program at Thornapple Kellogg High School has students working hard every day to change negative outcomes associated with untreated mental illness in teens.

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“Just listening,” Parker Dahley, a senior on the Hope Squad, said of talking to peers about stress, anxiety and other mental health issues. “That’s the most important part.”

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September is Teen Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month in the United States. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 24, behind accidental injury.

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Not all teen mental illness leads to suicide, but the detrimental effects of untreated mental illness are broad. More than one-third of people with mental illness develop a substance use disorder. People with mental illness have an unemployment rate twice the national rate and are twice as likely to drop out of high school.

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Thornapple Kellogg’s Hope Squad spends instructional time learning from adult advisors about mental healthcare and what it means for young people. It’s a national curriculum that is tailored to each district where it is deployed through a survey.

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“There are some core lessons,” Cary Saxton, a teacher advisor, said of the curriculum. “Things like recognizing when someone is off their baseline and recognizing even so far as signs of possible suicide or self-harm.”

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The students then take those lessons into the hallways.

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“I think a lot of adults don’t take kids seriously sometimes when they talk about they are struggling,” Morela Gielincki, a junior member of the Hope Squad, said. “Or the kids don’t feel safe enough with the adults to actually tell them.”

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In addition to constant conversations, the group of students also organizes schoolwide events to foster connections.

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“We have done it for five or seven years,” Saxton said of the initiative. “It started with a group of teachers and counselors. Getting the students to take the lead has been huge.”

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“They are boots on the ground. They know what the issues are with the student body,” Tricia Rickert, another advisor, said of the student squad members. “They know what the student body likes and what they want to do. We just let them drive the boat.”

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Last year, they pulled off a pancake breakfast, a wellness fair and a daylong Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament. Each event was meant to give students a lower-stress chance at connecting with a peer they make have missed.

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“Some kids on a day-to-day basis hate coming to school,” Dahley said. “Maybe by giving them something to look forward to… You give them an opportunity to make a connection.”

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Dahley, Gielincki and their fellow squad members were selected via survey of the entire student body. Each member is routinely flagged as caring, honest, nice and trustworthy. Both told News 8 they were flattered to be picked and said they just try to treat people like they want to be treated.

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With the start of the 2026 school year came a new chance to develop events and programming. Saxton and Rickert said this year’s new big idea is starting earlier: They have plans to go to the middle school and engage with students there.

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Originally published at https://www.woodtv.com/news/barry-county/thornapple-kellogg-students-are-boots-on-the-ground-for-mental-health-awareness/