Suicide prevention Hope Squad introduced to Valley High School students

Hope was on the lunch menu Wednesday at Valley High School.

Students were introduced to their school’s new Hope Squad, part of a national youth suicide prevention program, and asked to write positive and inspirational messages on paper hearts that are being placed on a tree in the library hallway.

It was the New Kensington school’s first “Hope Day” and observance of September as suicide awareness and prevention month.

In addition to the hearts, squad members passed out slips with their mission statement, “Reduce youth suicide through education, training and peer intervention,” along with inspiring stickers and Life Savers candies as a reminder that everyone can be a life saver. A suicide prevention banner was posted in the cafeteria.

Nine students, juniors and seniors, are now part of the squad. Its creation earlier this year was supported with proceeds from the Maura C. Rupprecht Alumni Hockey Game. The Deer Lakes Hockey Club game is named for a girl who died from suicide at age 16 in March 2019.

“I want to make a positive change,” said squad member Zack Doran, 17, of New Kensington. “I want to help people out if I can.”

Natalie Beckes, 18, of New Kensington said she was eager to join after being nominated.

“Mental health is stigmatized,” she said. “This is a way to work around it.”

Beckes is especially sympathetic toward those who have endured bullying, as she had been bullied, herself.

“I tell them it does get better even though it doesn’t seem like it now,” she said.

Eleven more students will be joining the program, said Ashley Pujol, a health and physical education teacher at Valley High School and a squad adviser. The students are nominated by their classmates as those they would feel comfortable talking to, and then they receive training.

The training helps students see warning signs, be empathetic and understand confidentiality, Pujol said. It is made clear that they are not counselors; if a serious situation arises, they seek out an adviser.

They haven’t made any interventions yet; however, Pujol said there was one situation last school year where a student was sad and wanted to talk.

“It is working,” she said.

Among the students’ first ideas was to place a box at the school where those needing help could leave notes.

“I didn’t think it would work. It actually was very successful,” said Candy Luniewski, a squad adviser and the school’s academic success coach.

Luniewski said most of the notes came from students feeling sad or lonely. Squad members wrote back.

“They thought it was a really cool thing to have a pen pal,” Luniewski said.

In addition to inspirational fliers posted in hallways, flyers with QR codes for helplines have been placed inside bathroom stalls.

“Where do you go when you’re upset at school?” Luniewski said.

The squad will have a booth at the homecoming festival Thursday, Oct. 20. District administrators, teachers and a security guard are volunteering to take pies to their faces as a fundraiser for the Hope Squad.

The national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached by calling 988.