Page 79 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2024

who are all under one roof,” Roberts said. “It’s about creating a culture
of kindness and inclusivity. It’s about just asking someone how they are
that day. It’s more boots on the ground while at the same time shifting the mindset so that we are behaving differently and better toward one another.”
Hope Squad student ambassadors collectively receive basic mental health training and learn a variety of tools and activities. The program specifically equips student ambassadors with how to know what to listen for and when to notify a trusted adult. Research shows seven out of 10 students will seek out a peer to discuss feelings of self-harm over an adult. Training includes using the right words when talking to someone who is showing signs of distress and how to wisely use their roles as messengers between peers and adults.
Squads meet regularly and are not only advised about suicide prevention but also on other topics such as bullying. Ambassadors further learn how to tell the difference between someone who is having a bad day and a fellow student experiencing serious problems.
The program, which is in 47 states and Canada, landed on Jackson County’s horizon in July 2023 when the SRHS Foundation brought motivational speaker Emma Benoit of Louisiana to the Gulf Coast. She spoke at a mental health summit in Gulfport about her suicide attempt in 2017 at only 16, an act that left her wheelchair bound. When she visited the Coast, Benoit told foundation and chamber representatives about Hope Squad.
“Singing River has made mental health a priority,” Sessum said. “We were looking for ways we could help the community with more of the outreach and preventative side of mental health.” Benoit spoke again in October 2023 at a mental health summit the foundation, chamber, and Pascagoula- Gautier School District sponsored at Pascagoula High School. In December 2023, representatives from the county’s four school districts visited schools in Okaloosa County, Florida, to see Hope Squad in action.
“When they came back, they were just blown away by the program,” Sessum said. “All four superintendents said they would love to see the Hope Squad in our schools, and we just wanted to play a part in helping make that happen.”
The nationwide program began in the four Jackson County school districts this past August and those districts are the first in Mississippi to successfully get the program off the ground. The hope is for statewide expansion with legislative support and funding to all middle and high schools throughout the Magnolia State.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988. Visit www. hopesquad.com for more information.
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