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Red Wing presenters seek school space, student access for Hope Squad peer-suicide-prevention program
Summary
A group seeking to launch a locally funded chapter of Hope Squad briefed the Red Wing Public Schools board on the program’s model, costs and two specific requests: space for meetings and access to student nomination lists; the group said the program itself would be fully funded by outside fundraising.
Liz Miguel, speaking as a Hope Squad organizer, told the Red Wing Public Schools Board that Hope Squad is a peer-to-peer program that trains students to recognize signs of anxiety and depression in classmates and to pass those concerns to designated adults who then connect students with mental-health providers.
"Students are identifying anxiety and depression in their peers, not suicidal ideation," Miguel said. She said squad members relay concerns to identified adults — teachers, custodians or other staff — who then refer students to mental-health agencies such as Hiawatha Valley Mental Health rather than providing clinical care themselves.
Miguel described Hope Squad as "an evidence based model for community collaboration," and said it began in Provo, Utah, after a string of teen suicides there. She said the Provo implementation went nine years without a suicide after Hope Squad was introduced and that the program now operates in 43 states and more than 2,300 schools.
Dr. Craig Morris, identified by Miguel as a member of the local board of directors for the proposed chapter, said students often learn best from other students and called Hope Squad a way to bridge gaps between students who show warning signs and the clinical professionals who can intervene. "What Hope Squad really represents is an opportunity to provide that intervention and then make sure that connection with clinical services can be afforded," Morris said.
Miguel outlined the group’s costs and requests. She told the board the high-school-level curriculum typically costs about $4,000 a year; adult trainers require a two-day virtual training that costs about $400 per person; and the program also incurs smaller recurring expenses for apparel, snacks at meetings, printing and nonprofit-formation administrative costs. Miguel said the local Hope Squad board has fundraising plans and intends to cover all program costs so the district would pay "0 dollars every year, not 1¢." She said the group can provide the program without using district funds.
The organizers asked two specific supports from the district: provision of semi-private space for weekly Hope Squad meetings during or after the school day, and access to the student nomination/selection process so students can nominate peers to serve as squad members. Miguel said Red Wing High School would likely need 12 to 18 squad members per year for each grade cohort, with heavier membership in younger high‑school grades so members can continue year-to-year.
Board members did not take a formal vote on the presentation. Miguel said the local board of directors includes Rachel Marshall Schoenfeldt, Dr. Craig Morris, Mayor Gary Yackel and others, and offered to provide additional materials and local data on teen mental-health trends.
The presentation concluded without a board action; the board will have the material on file if members wish to refer the request to staff for follow-up.
