Teenagers are often more comfortable confiding in friends than an adult.
When students are struggling with anxiety, depression or thoughts of self-harm, those first conversations frequently happen in school hallways or through text messages between classmates. Hope Squad, a peer-to-peer suicide prevention program now active in schools throughout the Spokane area, is built around those relationships.
At Shadle Park High School, the program has grown from about 10 students to nearly 80 students in the program’s first three years. This year, Shadle was recognized as the area’s High School Hope Squad of the Year.
For senior Madison Mann, who joined during the program’s inception, the appeal was immediate.
Her freshman year English teacher and current Shadle Park Vice Principal Joel Morris approached her three years ago and explained that he was helping launch Hope Squad at Shadle.
“He was super excited,” Mann said. “He just explained to me what it was and said that he felt like I would be a really good fit for it. Instantly I was just like, ‘Yeah, I totally want to be a part of that.’ ”
Mann said she was drawn to the organization’s mission of supporting students and creating a culture where conversations about mental health are normalized rather than avoided.
“I knew that it was going to bring a lot of amazing things to my school,” Mann said. “I love helping people and I felt like that was just a perfect place to be able to do that.”
Since joining Hope Squad, Mann said she has gained a deeper understanding of mental health and become more comfortable discussing difficult topics.
“I’ve learned so much more about mental health that I didn’t know before,” Mann said. “Being more knowledgeable about it definitely helps you feel more comfortable to talk about it.”
Hope Squad is a national peer-to-peer suicide prevention program that originated in Utah and has expanded to nearly 2,500 schools across the United States and Canada as of 2025. Rather than relying solely on counselors or administrators, the program trains students to recognize warning signs of mental health struggles among their peers and connect those students with trusted adults and professional support.
The model has gained traction in high schools and middle schools throughout Eastern Washington through Educational Service District 101, which oversees 59 school districts across Northeast Washington.
Kirsten Fuchs, Youth Cannabis and Commercial Tobacco Prevention Program Coordinator at ESD 101, said the organization began bringing the program to the Spokane area in 2023 through a partnership involving Kellen Cares Foundation, Light a Lamp, Inland Northwest Behavioral Health, Fail Safe for Life and other suicide prevention organizations .
What started as a handful of interested schools expanded to approximately 376 students participating in Hope Squad in 14 schools across Spokane Public Schools, Mead School District and East Valley School District.
“We know that youth don’t necessarily always go to adults, even when they know those adults are equipped to help them,” Fuchs said. “Students are already talking to each other and already reaching out to each other about their mental health needs.”
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 24 in Washington and Spokane County, according to state health officials. One in three Washington 10th -graders reported feeling nervous, anxious or unable to control worrying, according to data collected by Healthy Youth Survey, a public health department in Olympia.
Hope Squad does not train students to become counselors or therapists. Instead, students learn how to recognize warning signs and connect struggling classmates with appropriate resources.
“We try to train these students that they are not counselors, they’re not therapists, they’re not there to solve the problem,” Morris said. “It’s strictly look for students that look like they need support, look for the warning signs of mental health crisis or suicidal thoughts or ideation, and then connect them with the support that they need.”
Students learn what Hope Squad calls the “HOPE Approach,” a youth-focused adaptation of the evidence-based QPR, or Question, Persuade, Refer, model used in suicide prevention training.
The acronym “HOPE” stands for Heads Up, Offer, Persuade and Encourage.
One of the most distinctive aspects of Hope Squad is how students are selected. They cannot simply sign up. Instead, classmates nominate peers they view as trustworthy and approachable. The process is designed to ensure Hope Squad reflects the broader student body, including students who may not be heavily involved in other school activities.
“We want our Hope Squad at each school to be representative of students in their school,” Fuchs said. “When nominations are conducted, we’re asking students who they trust, who brightens their day and who can help connect them with resources.”
For junior Nevaeh Ortiz Rodriguez, being nominated was meaningful.
“I guess I made an impact on them,” she said. “I think it’s because I’m genuine. The people that nominated me always felt a sense of comfort. Like they just knew I had their back.”
Ortiz Rodriguez said she became interested in mental health advocacy after witnessing the struggles many students experienced during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Middle school was a very vulnerable time for students, mentally,” she said.
Since joining Hope Squad, she said she has become more comfortable discussing mental health and helping peers find resources.
Freshman Rhyker Thulean-O’Harran said helping others has always been important to him.
“Seeing people around me struggling, it was always very important to me to get people help,” Thulean-O’Harran said.
He said Hope Squad has changed him personally as well.
“My ability to put myself out there has been very much improved since the beginning of the year because of Hope Squad,” Thulean-O’Harran said. “I’ve been a lot more compassionate and a lot more patient with people because I just understand that they might be going through something behind the scenes.”
That kind of student leadership has impressed Morris throughout the program’s growth.
“They have their own struggles that they deal with and yet they are willing to take that on in addition to what they deal with and balance that all,” Morris said. “Seeing kids willingly take that on is just incredible to me.”
Recruitment efforts at the start of the school year helped the Shadle Park Hope Squad grow rapidly. With the help of counselor Calvin Bruce, returning Hope Squad members visited freshman homerooms to explain the program and encourage participation. After nominations and interviews, the squad grew to 78 students.
“I never expected it getting this big,” Morris said.
The growth surprised even those closest to the Shadle Park Hope Squad program.
“Seeing how many kids were willing to join and really play a role was awesome,” Mann said.
The growth helped fuel one of Shadle’s signature projects.
While Hope Week is a national initiative celebrated by Hope Squads across the country, Shadle students wanted to create something that more directly addressed difficult mental health topics.
The result was Hope Con.
The student-led event focused on conversations surrounding mental health, depression, anxiety and suicide prevention. Students presented information and connected their classmates with resources available at school and in the community.
“I kind of took a lead role in the Hope Con this year because I was the only returning member who had done the con before,” Mann said.
Morris said the idea emerged from students themselves.
“Hope Week is fun and it pushes the fun side of all these things that we can do just to build connection and build our community,” Morris said. “However, we also need to get to some of the more difficult stuff.”
The event became one of the reasons Shadle was ultimately selected as High School Hope Squad of the Year.
“One of the reasons Shadle was nominated for Hope Squad High School of the Year this year was because of the work they did for Hope Con,” Fuchs said. “It was a great way to encourage students to participate and to kind of feel that sense of belonging at school and amongst their peers.”
The program’s impact extends beyond individual events.
According to Fuchs, schools measure success in several ways, including reducing stigma surrounding mental health, increasing referrals to trusted adults and creating a stronger culture of support.
Healthy Youth Survey data shows that many students still cannot identify a trusted adult they would turn to during a crisis. Hope Squad aims to help bridge that gap.
“Supportive adults are a really big positive influence on youth,” Fuchs said.
Local nonprofit Light a Lamp partners closely with Hope Squads across the region through its mental health and suicide prevention efforts in schools.
Angella Southerly of Light a Lamp said Shadle Park’s students stood out.
“We’ve seen these kids really take a stance on supporting others in their community as well as their school,” Southerly said.
Southerly said Shadle’s squad was the largest group her organization has worked with so far.
“It was just really inspiring to see the huge amount of kids that are interested in taking part in Hope Squad,” she said.
For Mann, the program’s success comes down to commitment.
“This is the type of group that you need people who are all in,” Mann said. “If you don’t have that, then it’s hard to be able to count on them and trust them to carry out what needs to be carried out.”
She said she believes the organization has become an important part of Shadle’s culture. During Hope Week, she said, the atmosphere throughout the school noticeably changes.
“The environment in our school is so fun and uplifting,” Mann said. “The air just almost feels lighter because it’s crazy how something so small can just change the mood of an entire day.”
As she prepares to graduate, Mann said the activity she’s most proud of in high school is Hope Squad .
“Hope Squad is very near and dear to my heart,” she said. “Out of all the things that I do at Shadle, it’s definitely by far my favorite.”