Pine Island student group offers suicide prevention and mental health support

Culled from a list of 200 nominations, the team of about 20 students works under the name the Hope Squad. 'I think every school should have one,' one member says.

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PINE ISLAND, Minn. — On Monday morning, Jessica Lee brought a framed photograph of her son to Pine Island High School and started telling a group of students about him. She described how he had been a percussionist in band, and that he threw discus in track and field, that he was passionate about gaming and that he dreamed about becoming a veterinarian.

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His name was Jace. And as Lee continued speaking to the students, she described how her son took his own life in 2023. He was 15.

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“He also had secrets,” Lee said. “Secrets he couldn’t tell me or his dad or his sister. Secrets that he was depressed and that he was struggling. Secrets that we will never know.”

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As their former classmate, Jace was someone the students once knew. And yet, they were hearing the story from Lee because it’s students like her son that they’ve been tasked with helping.

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This year, Pine Island High School started a group called the Hope Squad. It consists of a handful of students from each grade who’ve taken it upon themselves to serve as a peer-to-peer support network.

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The school didn't launch the project specifically because of Jace Lee. Nonetheless, his story highlighted the need for the group and the impact it could have.

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“I know a lot of people who have struggled with mental health,” said Emaleigh Weis, one of the students taking part in the program. “They have come up to me and said ‘The Hope Squad was such a good idea … I think every school should have one.’”

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At the beginning, the district's wellness and mental health coordinator Tom Horner and the school social worker Cait Carr asked the student body to nominate people who would be a good fit for the project. They then whittled the pool of more than 200 nominations down to a handful from each grade. The Hope Squad now consists of roughly 20 students.

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Once selected, the students began attending training to help them learn how to support their friends and fellow students. As part of the Hope Squad, they look for signs that their peers may be struggling. Sometimes, that may mean approaching them if they’ve posted something concerning on social media. Sometimes, it may mean intentionally sitting with someone who always eats lunch alone.

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“We know what to recognize and how to go about those situations,” said Adam Johnson, another student involved in the Hope Squad.

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The idea behind the group is that students may be more willing to talk to a fellow student about something they’re struggling with than they would be to approach an adult. Carr described the group as helping to connect the dots between students who are struggling and the resources they need.

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Horner said they're giving students in the Hope Squad “the tools to have meaningful conversations.”

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“They’re never meant to be counselors or crisis-response specialists,” Horner said. “They’re trained to be good listeners and good friends and know what to do.”

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The school received a grant of $18,400 for the program, which it plans to use over the next four years. It received the grant from the Goodhue County Mental and Chemical Health Coalition since the county had designated suicide prevention as one of its priorities.

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According to the 2022 Minnesota Student Survey, 16% of surveyed students in Goodhue County — one in six — reported that they’d “seriously considered attempting suicide” in the past year.

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In the year and a half since Jace died, Lee has started a memorial scholarship in her son’s name. She said they want to award the scholarship to students who have been there for their peers.

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Lee is still working on establishing the nonprofit behind it, but those who would like to donate to the scholarship in the meantime can use the Venmo account @Jess-Swenson-1.

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As Lee was speaking to that classroom of students on Monday morning, she commended them for working to make the school a better place for their peers.

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“There is hope, though, that we can all do something proactive to stop another child, another adult, another Jace from dying,” Lee said. “And here we are — a Hope Squad.”

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Originally published at https://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/pine-island-student-group-offers-suicide-prevention-and-mental-health-support