Hope Squad for mental health OK’d at Winfield high

The Winfield High School Hope Squad will function alongside programs at Cowley College and Arkansas City High School that work in conjunction with the Arkansas City Police Department and Four County Mental Health.

WHS principal Eric Flaton said he was very disturbed by the number of suicides of high school students in Winfield and Ark City since he started as principal three years ago in Winfield. He’s been looking for some kind of group that might help address the problem, he said, and the Hope Squad might be it.

Since the creation of the Suicide Prevention of Cowley County Coalition last year, a group of caring residents has found ways to spread suicide prevention and mental health awareness, said Ark City Police Chief Eric Burr, chairperson for the group.

“The coalition has a very strong adult representation,” Burr said, “but we have not been able to appeal to or recruit youth.” Finding Hope Squad is an important step for them.

Teen suicide rates in Cowley County have risen over the last three years.

“Add COVID-19 restrictions, remote learning, social media and other stressors, and it is easy to identify that our young people are most susceptible to mental health crisis,” Burr said.

Statistics indicate that seven out of 10 students will reach out to a friend or peer when in crisis instead of an adult, he said.

Hope Squad educates a select group of students on observing the warning signs of crisis and suicide, and teaches them the appropriate course of action when they identify it.

Hope Squad members are nominated by their classmates as trustworthy peers and then are trained by advisors.

Although many other states already have Hope Squad, Cowley College is the first school in Kansas to form a group and only about the 12th nationally directed at college students. About 1,200 schools across the country have started Hope Squads, according to program’s website.

WMS Assistant Principal Kaitlyn Pressnall said the national Hope Squad organization offers virtual training with the hope that after the first year potential advisers can go to Provo, Utah for in-person training at the organization’s headquarters. For the first year, Hope Squad will train the trainers for free.