Reducing Teen Suicide with Peer Prevention

We speak with teachers, middle school and high school students from Lockwood, Montana, about how Hope Squad has empowered them to take a more proactive role in preventing suicide in their schools. Learn how education, training and open discussions have connected students and adults to reduce the stigma around mental health issues, talking about suicide and seeking professional help when needed. 

Transcript

Kaitlyn Maher  00:00

I think a huge thing that I've noticed is having students bring concerns about their peers to adults, and they know that the adults are trusted individuals and just trying to get help for those students.

Beth Brown  00:17

Welcome to Breaking Barriers in Rural Health, a limited series podcast from Mountain Pacific. We are sharing what is working in rural mental health and health care, and discussing ways to replicate these successes. We're also shining sunlight where it's needed by identifying breakdowns and gaps in care. Ultimately, we aim to improve the health and well being of our health care communities and anyone listening in to this podcast. Now, here's the latest episode in Breaking Barriers in Rural Health.

Amber Rogers  00:53

Welcome everybody to the Breaking Barriers in Rural Health podcast. I'm your host, Amber Rogers. Today we have a very large group, so there's going to be lots of new and interesting voices to hear from today. We're going to hear about an exciting program called Hope Squad from the Lockwood School District in Lockwood, Montana, which is an outskirt of Billings, Montana. So we have some wonderful teachers here. We have Jamie and Nicole and Caitlin. This is very exciting. I heard about this particular project from Tobin, who is your superintendent, and he was an absolutely fantastic speaker. And I was like, I have got to hear more about this Hope Squad, because he is fantastic. He is going to get Hope Squad going across the entire state of Montana, I just know it. It sounds like a fantastic program, and I am excited to hear from you. So what we're going to do is have the teachers introduce their students, so everybody say hi and tell our audience who you are, what grade you're in, and when you started with Hope Squad, I'm just going to go around and Jamie, you're up first.

Jayme Wilder  02:13

I'm Jayme Wilder. I'm one of the counselors in the high school. And then I'll let Nicole introduce herself, and she'll introduce the students.

Nycole LaRowe  02:23

I'm Nycole LaRowe. I'm a school counselor here at Lockwood as well, and we have Nate and Laina and Paige with us from the high school today, and I'll let them go in a circle and talk about who they are.

Paige  02:34

I'm Paige. I'm a junior in high school, and I've been in Hope Squad for three years now.

Laina  02:40

My name is Laina. I'm a junior too, and I've also been Hope Squad for three years. We both got elected for it when we were in middle school at the start of the program.

Nate  02:49

Hi, I'm Nate, and I've been in Hope Squad since, I believe either junior or sophomore one of the two. But I'm a senior at Lockwood High School. 

Amber Rogers  02:57

Awesome. And then Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn Maher  03:00

My name is Kaitlyn Maher, and I am a Spanish teacher at the middle school here in Lockwood, and I have five of my middle school Hope Squad students here with me. So I have Brooklyn, Noelle, Dagny, Max and Ali.

Brooklyn  03:13

My name is Brooklyn, and I'm in eighth grade, and I've been in Hope Squad for, I think, like four years. I think I got in like, in like fifth or fourth grade.

Noelle  03:22

My name is eighth grade, and I've been in Hope Squad since sixth grade, so I think this is like my third year.

Dagny  03:29

Hey, my name is Dagny. I'm in eighth grade, and I've been doing Hope Squad since last year, so this will be my second year. 

Ali  03:37

Hi, I'm Ali. I've been Hope Squad since the third grade, and I'm in eighth grade so five years.

Amber Rogers  03:43

Wow. I am super impressed. I just think that that's so cool. Can you guys explain a little bit about how you even came to be part of Hope Squad? Laina, why don't you answer that question?

Laina  03:56

To decide who was in Hope Squad, the students and like peers at our school elected who they felt comfortable talking to, and trusted peers, people that they felt like safe with, and we all got voted in by our like fellow students, as a safe person that they would feel comfortable talking to.

Amber Rogers  04:14

That is super cool. And even to have that in what I recall the dreaded middle school years where everybody's a little shy and awkward, that's pretty impressive to start that at such a young age. So, super impressive for those middle school students, and for those of you in middle school right now, would that have started even in fifth and sixth grade? Dagny, how long have you been in it?

Dagny  04:41

So I've been in Hope Squad since seventh grade.

Amber Rogers  04:44

Seventh grade, that's pretty impressive. Let's move on. This question will go to Dagny. Tell me how you were nominated by your peers to be part of this program. How did you feel when you were first told about this opportunity? Were you scared? Were you excited? How did you feel about your peers nominating you to this program? 

Dagny  05:10

I kind of felt like it would be like a really good opportunity to meet new new people, and since I already had, like, a lot of friends in this class, I was pretty excited about that. But I was also very scared, because if somebody ever was in trouble or, like, going to something bad, it would be a little scary to, like, help them with it. 

Amber Rogers  05:26

Mixed feelings then? 

Dagny  05:28

Yeah.

Amber Rogers  05:29

Same question to Nate, you're a little bit older. How did that resonate with you? 

Nate  05:34

It made me actually kind of, like, happy, because I've known some friends that have actually, like, talked about, like they felt like they could trust me talking about it. And it made me feel like I'm actually like doing something to help other people so I can- instead of just helping myself with everything. 

Amber Rogers  05:50

Sorry, you kind of cut out there. Did you say that you had friends that actually had talked about hurting themselves? 

Nate  05:59

Yeah, when I went to Hope Squad, they felt like they could trust me and talk to me about it, and it made me feel like proud of myself, that like I'm helping other people. 

Amber Rogers  06:09

Wow, that's a lot of responsibility.

Nate  06:12

Yeah, but I like the responsibility of helping other people.

Amber Rogers  06:17

So Paige, do you want to tag on to that discussion about responsibility and how Hope Squad has given you some tools and training about what to do in those situations. 

Paige  06:34

Yeah, we did QPR training last year. QPR is Question, Persuade, Refer. You help them. You question them about what is going on, and then you persuade them to get help, and then you refer them to an individual, such as, like a counselor, so that they can get that professional help that they need. It was like a month long, and we did certain sessions on what we could like notice about people, and what were signs that they were thinking about it, and how to talk to them, how to get them to the help that they need. 

Amber Rogers  07:05

Wow. So this question goes to Ali. Have any of you experienced things that you didn't quite feel equipped to handle? If so, do you have tools or things that tell you what to do in those situations? 

Ali  07:21

Yes, we also went through QPR training in middle school, and I feel like those tools really helped us. And I feel like there was some points where I didn't exactly know what to do, and I felt that I couldn't tell this person's problem to another person, because that's just unkind of me. I felt there were situations where I didn't know what to do, but I ended up getting through them, and QPR training really helped me a lot.

Amber Rogers  07:44

That reminds me a lot of what we do in health care. I'm a nurse, and I'm sure teachers have a lot of this as well. We have a lot of confidentiality that we have to keep with our patients. It's very important to keep those trusting relationships. You have to keep that trust, otherwise people won't tell you stuff, right? Noelle, what's some of the most common situations that you have to deal with? Do you have a story that you can share with us about how maybe you help somebody?

Noelle  08:15

So I think some common things that I have to deal with are- not like only I have to, but people like, joke about it, or if you're helping somebody, and they don't want to, like, tell you what's going on but you know that they're struggling. And I feel like that's something that's really hard to deal with. I feel like that's also just really common. There's some time last year I was pretty close with one of my friends, and they ended up telling me that they're just feeling really suicidal, and after I told Miss Maher about it, I know that he got some help from the counselor, but it's hard to communicate with someone that you know is struggling, because sometimes they just don't want to tell you.

Amber Rogers  08:58

Yeah, I can't even- I mean, that's a lot of responsibility for a young person to handle. What about something even like a little bit smaller than that? What about even just sitting with somebody that's maybe not as popular at lunch? Does anybody have a story about something maybe a little less heavy than suicide, that sometimes can help too.

Laina  09:25

I have a story about something a little less heavy for the high school. We make little like paper clips and write encouraging notes and stuff on them and hand them after the day to like all the students, especially the people who like, don't have a bunch of friends or like, might need that little like uplifting thing in their day, just to kind of like, raise spirits. I guess that we do a bunch of little like activities like that to raise hopes and spirits around the school. Like we have lifesavers that we give out sometimes right encouraging notes, stay positive, and like other stuff like that on them. Gives kids something to look forward to today, and also gives us opportunities to like top some of those kids that we wouldn't normally talk to, make new connections.

Amber Rogers  10:02

Yeah, it really runs the gamut from tiny things that make a small difference in people's lives and really huge things about being there in times of crisis. You know, you kind of have to have the big things and the little things to make a difference in people's lives, right? What else is the story that you all want to share?

Brooklyn  10:23

I have a story about a friend that needed some help. I think it was last year in seventh grade, and I, like, would call her every night and check in on her, but there was this one night that, like, she wasn't responding or anything, and I went to go tell my mom, and my mom didn't think it was that much of a big deal. Made me really worried. But then I finally got a hold of her, and I called her, like, a few hours that night, and then the next day, I went and told Ms. Maher, and then I think she's going to the counselor now.

Amber Rogers  10:58

Wow. So how many of you do you think you're going to go into helping professions? Can you raise your hand? I see three hands so far in the younger kids. You probably aren't quite there yet, and thinking about those longer term careers yet. So I just want to put in a plug that it's pretty rewarding. I want to just turn to the teachers now. So Nycole, if you're a teacher listening to this podcast and you're interested in Hope Squad, in bringing that to your school, what would be your top two to three things that you would say to get this started in your school district?

Nycole LaRowe  11:34

I think the biggest one is having admin support, making sure that it comes from the top our superintendent and then it trickles down to our principals. They really have to be on board. It's not a funded program for us, like we have to pay subscriptions for the Hope Squad materials that we receive to teach our lessons and stuff at school. So, you know, obviously having that admin support is going to be the number one thing. And then I think researching Hope Squad, what does it look like in a school, maybe trying to shadow a school that has implemented Hope Squad. I know that has helped myself Miss Wilder and Miss Maher. We all went to a training in Utah to be Hope Squad advisors, and I think we gained some very valuable knowledge from that training. We spent a whole afternoon in a school that had already implemented it for multiple years. So we got to see some of the major working parts of a Hope Squad. I think those are the really big ones, admin support, and then shadowing a school that has Hope Squad, and then trying to get to one of those trainings in Provos, Utah, and maybe, if Kaitlyn or Jayme has anything to add, but those would be the big ones, I would think, for implementing a Hope Squad

Amber Rogers  12:36

Kaitlyn, any specific changes you've noticed in the school over time, since you've implemented this?

Kaitlyn Maher  12:44

I feel like our students have more empathy for one another and reach out to others. So if they're sitting alone at lunch, they try and make sure that that doesn't happen, and they'll either invite them to go sit with their friend group, or they will go sit with that student. And same goes when we have new students in school. They're kind, helpful individuals for other people. I think a huge thing that I've noticed is having students bring concerns about their peers to adults, and they know that the adults are trusted individuals, and just trying to get help for those students. And that, I think, is probably the biggest change is we don't have those students just struggling silently. It is voiced and then told to adults, and then we can get them the proper help that they need. 

Amber Rogers  13:30

Wow, yes. So it's a ripple effect.

Kaitlyn Maher  13:31

That's what I love about them being peer nominated is we get students from so many different friend groups that it really reaches a vast majority of our students

Amber Rogers  13:42

Cool. So what are some other last words that you'd want to share with our audience if you were to have one word about Hope Squad, what you've learned so far? If we kind of just wanted to go around the room and say what you've learned so far from Hope Squad. What is it giving you personally? Let's start with Max.

Max  14:07

I've learned to include everyone and not just be with my friend group and to reach out to other people, and sit with them at lunch and stuff like that. 

Amber Rogers  14:16

Yeah. So Paige, how about you?

Paige  14:20

I would say Hope Squad's really helped bring people together, form new connections, and it's taught me more, like, what suicide is, because, like, if there's a huge stigma around it, and getting out there and talking about it more. Even just doing that just makes it so much more aware, and like, it helps a lot with knowing what it is and, like, what the signs could be for it.

Amber Rogers  14:43

I am so glad somebody finally mentioned stigma, because if we don't talk about stigma, it doesn't lessen. So that's wonderful. Thank you. Paige Nate, what about you? What's Hope Squad brought to you?

Nate  14:57

So what Hope Squad's brought to me is, I mean. To me, you feel like you're not, like, alone and like you have someone like to turn to and talk to. I could speak from personal experiences with it, like, about almost a year now, I had lost my dad. I was gone for a couple days, and then I came back to school. But when I came back to school, I had a bunch of cards that were made for, like, for me and my brother and my family, and made me feel like I could go talk to somebody about it. So, like, it really helped me with the Yeah, grief with it, like I felt like I was supposed to belong.

Amber Rogers  15:28

Cool. Laina.

Laina  15:30

I could say one thing about Hope Squad is, I think it's brought a lot of good things to our school. It's definitely like Paige said, like it helped lift the stigma. I think it helped break the barrier between kids and like adults, like helping us reach out and get others to help, and having someone safe that we could talk to, someone who's a trusted adult in our school, or, like, with the Hope Squad, or like students with little comfortable talking to have like Hope Squad logos on their doors and everything. So we have like visible signs of like different options for like people of safe spaces they can reach out to. And I've also think it just like, brought a lot of new connections to our school with like, peers and everything, helped everyone connect. 

Amber Rogers  16:07

Ali, you're up next.

Ali  16:09

I feel Hope Squad has created a more safe environment for our school, for anybody to reach out to. And I feel like it is known as a class as, like, very helpful and easy to talk to, and we're taught ways to not make people feel like bad about themselves when they're talking to you about certain stuff that might make them feel bad about themselves and to encourage them to keep talking. And I feel that that has brought our school warmth like a safe place in our school. 

Amber Rogers  16:39

What's one thing that Hope Squad has meant to you personally?  Cool. Noelle? 

Noelle  16:42

For me, I think Hope Squad has just taught me a lot about how everyone is struggling. Not everyone, but people do struggle, and it's so important for them to just have somebody to talk to, and just being able to be that person is really neat.

Dagny  16:42

Something that Hope Squad meant to me was kind of just having a place like hanging out with my friends, or, like, learn new ways to, like, help people out. And I don't know, I think it's just something I can't wait to do in high school. 

Amber Rogers  17:14

Cool, and Brooklyn last, but not least.

Brooklyn  17:19

So what Hope Squad has brought to me is that I'm not only just excited throughout high school, but what we've learned, it will be a really helpful life skill, even if I'm, like, not gonna go into the career of like, specifically helping people, it'll still help with life in general. 

Amber Rogers  17:36

Yes, it will. Teachers. Any final wrap up thoughts that you'd like to share?

Kaitlyn Maher  17:44

I love teaching this class, and I love having Hope Squad as part of our school. It makes me really proud to watch them interact with their peers, and to watch how much they've grown and how much this has really helped our school as a whole. I think it's a really good program to have. 

Jayme Wilder  17:59

I would agree. I mean, I think it's brought a lot of great things to our school. I know that kids are more willing to come when they're concerned about a peer because they're kind of the eyes and ears. They get to see what's going on social media that we aren't always made aware of and the adults don't know about. And kids are more willing to come and talk to a safe adult when they're concerned. So that's been a great thing for our school.

Amber Rogers  18:24

Yeah, I bet. Nycole anything from you?

Nycole LaRowe  18:27

I think I would just echo exactly what they said. You know, it's really brought a lot of connectedness among students and staff members, and I think that's just something really special and unique about our school. So yeah, I think it's a great program, and I know that Lockwood would be more than happy to help any neighboring school that would want to try to implement this, if they ever wanted to shadow or just needed help, kind of researching or figuring out what next steps would be. I know Kaitlyn, Jayme and myself would be more than happy to visit with somebody if they were to reach out. 

Amber Rogers  18:57

Okay, awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking your lunch break to visit with me. Thank you so much and go forth and do good. Thank you. Hey. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Bye, thank you.

Beth Brown  19:21

Thank you for listening. Be sure to subscribe to Breaking Barriers in Rural Health and learn more about Mountain Pacific at www.mpqhf.org.