WSHS Students Launch Peer Support Hope Squad

At Winona Senior High School (WSHS), the new group Hope Squad is providing students with an opportunity to have peer-to-peer conversations about mental health. Students who are Hope Squad members said they want to help classmates recognize it's OK to ask for help when struggling, and they want to connect fellow students with resources that can help, such as counseling. An overall goal for the group is suicide prevention.

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Hope Squad members hope to foster more conversations about mental health. “We want to let people know it’s OK to reach out, and even if [they think], ‘Oh, my situation isn’t as bad as this person’s,’ it’s still OK to want help,” Junior Jasmin Mosher said. Acknowledging mental health needs is an important way to help reduce mental health stigma, Sophomore Laila Wimbish said. “Because I know in recent years it’s gotten so much better with how we approach it and how we teach others about it,” she said. “But also … with students … it’s very taboo to them … Most of the conversations about suicide are jokes … Most people don’t really understand the severity of it … I feel like we just need to … spread more awareness and make it seem more real to people and just to help people see … there’s nothing wrong with them for feeling that way.”

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Similarly, Sophomore Charlie LeGere said that students may downplay the challenges they face to not draw attention. “So they don’t want to talk about it because they don’t want to seem selfish,” she said. “But I think this can be a really good way to get people to not think that way so much and to realize that a problem is still a problem, whether it’s big or small.” Sophomore Amelia Neil added, “And a surprising amount of high schoolers will turn to substances like drugs and alcohol over it, just to deal with the feelings they’re having. So letting them know they’re not alone and they have someone to talk to will hopefully stop that from happening as much, because it can be really dangerous.”

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Students may be more comfortable discussing mental health initially with peers than with adults, some students said. “… It’s a lot easier to talk to a student than it is to a counselor,” junior Thomas Puetz said. LeGere echoed this, saying, “… I know kids are scared to talk to counselors because, for one, they’re adults.”

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Wimbish explained that the students in Hope Squad aren’t themselves providing counseling for their peers. “And we’re just here to refer other people, to make sure everybody is getting the help they need and making sure everybody feels supported and has a community at school,” she said. Mosher similarly said, “… We’re more so the bridge to get the help you need, the crisis number or a counselor.” She later added, “… It’s a basic thing that’s taught in health class about how even if the person would get really mad at you if you are to go and tell someone to get them help, in the long run … we want to make sure if it’s a dangerous situation, that person could be in danger, that we make sure there’s connections happening with adults and help lines to make sure that person stays safe.”

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Students and Hope Squad members can connect in many ways, whether in person or online. “I’d say as for students reaching out, all it takes is a ‘hi’ and … a, ‘Are you a Hope Squad member?” Mosher said. Photos of the group members will be posted at the school so students know who is part of Hope Squad. Neil said social media is also an important way to talk with others who may not be comfortable interacting in person. Junior Rose Fabian said, “… What we’ve been able to do so far is students can simply come and email us or come to talk to us in person if they need to.”

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Mosher said Hope Squad members are receiving training on signs of suicide risk. There are 44 students who are part of the group, Social Studies Teacher Dwayne Voegeli said.

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A seed grant from the Aiden’s Light Foundation helped the group begin. The group is accepting donations for running the program next year. Interested community members may send a donation to Winona Senior High School, 901 Gilmore Avenue, Winona, MN, 55987, with “Hope Squad” on the memo line.

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Originally published at https://www.winonapost.com/news/wshs-students-launch-peer-support-hope-squad/article_cbc32516-f105-4a5a-acc6-ddda9fa52642.html