Anxiety, depression threatened to kill her. But Coast teen found her voice and Hope Squad

Vicky Vo was obsessed with perfect grades.

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She remembers the first time she scored a 97 or 98 instead of her usual 100. She was in fifth grade. And she was crushed.

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Vicky’s quest for perfection — in all facets of life — filled her with anxiety. She grew depressed, self-harming and experiencing suicidal thoughts by the time she was in fifth grade.

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As a teenager, Vicky began to see that it helped to talk with adults, particularly her guidance counselors. It was tougher at home, where her parents, both born in Vietnam, were taught from childhood to keep their emotions to themselves.

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At age 17, Vicky was miserable enough for a breakthrough. She opened up in her pediatrician’s office about her anxiety and suicidal thoughts. Her mother heard her and understood.

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“I was so scared for so long, like, what if?” Vo asked in a recent interview, where she spoke with candor about her mental health struggles. “What if I’m not perfect?

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“ . . . But I’m everything that I wanted to be when I was younger, and so much more. And whenever I think about where I came from, whenever I was just 12 years old, if my (suicide) attempts had worked, I wouldn’t be able to sit here and talk to you today about my mental health, and that’s so big.”

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Her own dark times prepared Vo to be a member of Hope Squad. Four school districts in Jackson County introduced the suicide prevention program this school year in 14 middle and high schools. The program enlists and trains students to recognize and work with peers struggling with their mental health, and report to a trusted adult when intervention is needed.

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The students pick peers for Hope Squad who are kind, easy to approach and good listeners. Vicky was one of her classmates’ top picks for the St. Martin High School Hope Squad. When she learned about the program, Vicky thought, “Wow. Where was this my whole life?”

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Legislators meet Hope Squad members

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Today, Vicky and other Hope Squad members are working with the groups that brought the program to Jackson County — the Singing River Health System Foundation and Jackson County Chamber of Commerce — to secure money for statewide expansion. The cost for Jackson County, footed by the foundation and other businesses, will be $160,000 over four years for all 14 middle and high schools, which includes in-person training, said Paige Roberts, the chamber’s president and CEO.

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Hope Squad members and supporters recently went to Jackson to showcase the program and push for funding. Vicky spoke on the Senate floor about her mental health struggles and Hope Squad’s benefits.

Sen. Jeremy England of Vancleave introduced Vicky and the group. England noted that several teen suicides preceded Hope Squad’s introduction in Jackson County.

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“It’s a very uncomfortable thing to talk about but it’s something that we needed to talk about and we needed to address it,” England said, noting that his own son attends St. Martin High School and has seen the positive influence Hope Squad is having on students.

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“These individuals are changing lives,” he said. “But they’re not just changing lives, they’re actually saving lives. And that’s such a great and wonderful thing.”

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In 2024, the Legislature passed a bill to address an increase in depression and anxiety among young people that was brought on by the COVID pandemic. A study committee that the bill created recommended a pilot peer-to-peer program, focused on mental health.

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Rep. Sam Creekmore of New Albany, chairman of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee, hopes peer-to-peer school programs such as Hope Squad can be funded from the millions in opioid settlement money the state is receiving. He sees widespread support and cooperation among his colleagues for more mental-health funding in schools.

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Creekmore and Rep. Kevin Felsher of Biloxi, vice chair of Public Health and Human Services, pointed to the amount of time students spend on their smart phones. Kids can find themselves bullied on social media, Felsher said, especially Snapchat.

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“It seems like kids are carrying a lot more anxiety with them,” he said.

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Jackson County students share struggles

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Hope Squad helped Vicky understand she wasn’t the only teenager struggling. She’s more aware of her classmates and realizes many of them struggle, too. And she can relate.

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“Who my age wants to go out of their way, get out of class, draw attention to themselves and sit down with an adult and talk about it?” Vo asked. “Because whenever you’re talking about how you’re feeling, it’s mostly with your friends.”

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She’s more conscious of befriending students who are sitting alone in the cafeteria, saying hello to someone in the hall, asking how their day is going. In one of the Hope Squad sessions, Vicky learned she might be the first person that day to speak with a student, something she’d never thought about.

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Small interactions might seem insignificant, Vicky said, but they could convince a student contemplating suicide to hang around until they find within themselves “a reason to stay.”

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Students used to joke about suicide, as in, “I’m just going to kill myself.” But she hasn’t heard that joke in awhile. Hope Squad members were quick to pipe up and say, “That’s not funny.”

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Hope Squad has enriched Vo’s senior year. She’s made many new friends, including her 29 fellow Hope Squad members in grades 9-12. She’s let go of her need for perfection.

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“Vicky is a stellar example of what we want Hope Squad to be,” said the chamber’s Roberts. “She’s open about her highs and lows, and she seeks to engage others on their journeys.”

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“Hope is kryptonite to loneliness and despair. Vicky and the squads across Jackson County are fighting for mentally healthy teens.”

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Originally published at https://www.sunherald.com/news/local/education/article300889449.html#storylink=cpy