Hope Squad Suicide Prevention

GRATITUDE

In the face of brokenness,
gratitude has the power to heal.
In the face of despair,
gratitude has the power to bring hope.

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The School-Based
Peer-to-Peer
Suicide Prevention Program

In partnership with the QPR Institute

Get Involved

Get started today with our resources and your own Hope Squad.

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Over 1,500 Hope Squads nationwide.

PAUSING in a healthy way can help us handle the challenges life gives us with greater skill. It keeps us from living life on auto-pilot. It can give us room to be inspired with new ideas or to see new opportunities. BREATHING brings us into the present moment without regrets from the past or anxiety for the future. HOPE empowers us to move forward with belief of a better future.

Courageous Mental Health

"What is courage? It is not the absence of fear, as one might think...Today, I choose courage. I have faith that the clouds are passing. I have the strength to lift my head, even if just for a moment each day to start. I do this because I know that my true courage and power lies in my choice- not in what happened to me- but in how I choose to respond...No more drifting through life allowing my choices to be made for me because of my fears and frozen stance. Today, I choose courage."
~NAMI
Mental Health Awareness Month

What is Hope Squad?

Hope Squad is a peer-to-peer suicide prevention program. Hope Squad members are nominated by their classmates as trustworthy peers and trained by advisors. The program reduces youth suicide through education, training, and peer intervention.

States & Canada

800 +

Schools

8000 +

Hope Squad Members

1000 +

Students Referred for Help

Hope Squad on

May, 2019
(Update: There are now over 1,600 Squads in 41 states and Canada)

Why Start a Hope Squad?

- Train staff and community members in youth suicide prevention through evidence-based training.
- Empower the natural helpers in your school through peer-to-peer suicide prevention training.
- Raise awareness of mental health and youth suicide prevention resources.
- Educate students on how to recognize suicide warning signs and respectfully report concerns.
- Train students how to support fellow students who may be struggling.
- Increase connectedness, inclusion, and social-emotional learning skills.
- Increase help-seeking behaviors.
- Reduce suicide attempts.

Hope Squad Helps

Nationally known for our ability to connect students with each other and to mental health resources, Hope Squad has a process that works on all levels for youth suicide prevention.

Hope Squad members strive to:

Create a safe school environment
Promote connectedness
Support anti-bullying
Encourage mental wellness
Reduce mental health stigma
Prevent substance misuse

Community Suicide Prevention

The impact of suicide is far-reaching and affects entire communities. When cities, mental health organizations, and schools work together for youth suicide prevention, the entire community is strengthened. We speak a common language—we are educated to understand warning signs and recognize who is at risk. We gain common understanding—we know how to intervene and what to do. We have common knowledge—we know how to access resources and where to go for help. Working together, there is HOPE that suicide can be prevented.

Click articles below to read more about Hope Squads

Ohio Hope Squad in action for suicide prevention

Hope Squad Is Proof Teen Suicide Prevention Support Groups Work, Researcher Says

Suicide in the U.S. Declined During the Pandemic

ABC News Hope Squad teens respond after the pandemic

Hope Squad featured in ABC News special

Red Flag Recognition Training to Prevent School Shootings

First-ever Hope Week set at Jefferson schools / About Hope Squad

Student ‘Hope Squads’ Fight Teen Suicide by Saving Peers’ Lives: ‘Every School Should Have This’

Quotes from our newly-trained advisors

I feel like this will make a huge difference. I think this is a wonderful program. I can't wait to get started.

Hi! I teach middle school English. I was asked by our counselor to join this program. This hits close to home. I have lost several friends to suicide and if I can be the one to help, I want to be that one.

I am excited to get through this training. I chose to start this journey because I see such a need in my students to have somewhere safe to go and mentors they can look to for an example.

I'm a middle school history teacher from Ft. Worth, TX. I wanted to join Hope Squad because teenagers need advocates. I want to be that for the kids in my school.

I've served at-risk youth for the majority of my 18 years as a professional educator. This is the best training I've taken since being introduced to trauma informed care.

I am a school psychologist in WA. Our school counselor and I want to implement Hope Squad into our building next year. We have a fairly robust PBIS but feel we are missing vital components that Hope Squad offers!

I am a High School science teacher in Texas. I have lost students in the past to suicide so it's important for me to help students understand that there are resources to help them through difficult times in their lives.

Grateful for this training and knowledge. Wish I would have had this opportunity years ago. Thank you!

I am here to give any support needed for students who may be struggling...want to make sure they know they are important and cared for.

Anything to help our children...I think this is a wonderful program!