The Hope Squad, a club that focuses on mental health awareness, has recently emerged at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.

On December 15 and 18, the club met to discuss measures that could be taken to help people struggling with mental health, while simultaneously exploring different aspects of mental health.

Shannon Williams, Social Studies Teacher at the high school and a team advisor of the Hope Squad, shared the importance of the club.

“The goal is to create visibility in the school, to raise awareness and educate [others] about the types of [mental health] resources we have available for students,” Ms. Williams said.

Besides Ms. Williams, the other team advisors from BRHS are Social Studies Teacher  Lori Kendis, Health and Physical Education Teacher Michele Kussmaul, Special Education Teacher Evan Rosenberg and Lauran Amisial, who is a Student Assistance Counselor.

In late October, the student body was asked to nominate individuals from all grades who they viewed as emotionally intelligent and approachable. Those who met that criteria were then asked to fill out an application, and upon its review, members began to fill the club with excitement and positivity.

The club met to engage in multiple activities regarding the understanding, impacts and stigmas of mental health. After creating a welcoming environment through icebreakers and group discussions, they began to elaborate on topics with statistics and anecdotes.

The Hope Squad was first asked to practice skills necessary in the communication with someone who may need help. This involved active listening and the “Question, Persude, and Refer” (QPR) method that is utilized to decrease suicides and internal struggles.

These exercises simultaneously sought to educate participants on the signs that occur when someone may be dealing with adversity and emphasized the importance of understanding that there are a multitude of ways to help someone.

The impact that mental health can have on someone was demonstrated through various videos and charts. Taking care of oneself through a self-care plan, which is a chart that focuses on interpersonal, physical, spiritual and emotional health, works to improve one’s mental state.

Hope Squad members were asked to practice and inform others of this plan and its positive effects. Videos and statistics were shown to explain the impacts that awareness and kindness can have on anyone, including those in our community.

The Hope Squad also shared the goal of lowering the stigmas around mental illness. They brainstormed ideas for reducing this negativity and created posters meant to raise awareness on this topic.

Ms. Williams went on to explain what inspired the creation of the Hope Squad club.

“[This] is something the school has been missing for a long time. The first couple of years I started teaching here, it just felt really lonely. We don’t have a lot of school unity, so I saw this club as an opportunity to bring some changes to this school that we desperately need,” she said. 

These changes are meant to highlight the creation of a support system, one that sophomore Durva Gandhi is determined to implement. 

“I wanted to make sure people always had a safe place and person to talk to, and could come to me with anything they wanted to talk about and I could help,” she said.

Ms. Williams concluded with her goal for the club.

“I want [Hope Squad] to be the leaders of the positive changes that this school needs,” Ms. Williams said.