Aspen Middle School to implement peer-to-peer mental health support program

Aspen Middle School will implement a peer-to-peer approach to mental health support this spring, building on a program first established in the high school three years ago. 

Hope Squad, a national program based out of Provo, Utah, was founded with the idea that a student-led approach to mental health aid and suicide-prevention is most effective, as students are often more comfortable talking about mental health with peers than with school staff or parents.

Coulter Burch, a community counselor who will help run the middle school program, hopes it will be up and running in the next few weeks, with staff trained and student Hope Squad members elected by peers. He said much of the middle school curriculum will help students understand the signs of depression and promote healthy social habits among their peers. 

“I think the earlier that intervention gets to people, the earlier they can make positive influences on themselves and each other,” Burch said.

The middle school follows in the footsteps of Aspen High School (AHS) after watching the success of its own Hope Squad program, which was instituted in the 2022/23 school year.

Between 2021 and 2023, AHS students who reported feeling sad or hopeless dropped from 39.8% to 19.8%, according to data from the Colorado Healthy Kids Survey where students answer mental health-related questions. In the same period, the portion of students who “seriously considered suicide” dropped from 18.1% to 9.5%.

AHS incorporated the program, focused on suicide prevention, after two students researched ways to improve teen mental health, according to Assistant Principal Becky Oliver. This year, 25 peer-elected ninth through 12th graders currently represent the squad.

The members receive training on how to talk to peers about suicide, relying on a “QPR” framework: question, persuade, refer. They learn to ask effective questions to peers if concerned about their mental wellbeing, to persuade them to be open to getting help, and to refer them to an adult for support.

The school strives to include representatives from a variety of student groups on campus, from minority to LGBTQ+ to athlete groups, according to Oliver.

“It needs to be kids that other kids see as approachable and safe to talk to,” she said.

Julia Diaz, Hope Squad student board co-president and AHS senior, said they strive to ensure people understand asking for help is important. They also work to reduce mental health stigma at the school.

“Which I honestly think we’ve done a pretty good job of,” Diaz said.

Audrey Woodrow, also Hope Squad student board co-president and AHS senior, said many students get involved in the organization because they’ve experienced suicide-related situations, whether personally or with a friend.  

“It is hard being a teenager and people struggle in different ways, so having a place where people can talk to someone their own age is really important,” she said.

Hope Squad members meet twice a week to talk about initiatives and are currently discussing ways to cope with the stress of the college application process, the students said. 

They also help organize “Hope Week,” where they introduce speakers to talk to students, including nutritionists, sports psychologists, or others who the students feel are pertinent to various aspects of teen mental health.

“All of this is student-led,” Oliver said.

“It’s created a more inclusive environment, where kids recognise that all kids are probably struggling with something,” she added of the program’s impact.

Program funding for student and staff training, events, and more is provided by the Aspen tobacco tax, according to Oliver.

Those struggling with suicidal thoughts, distress, mental health, or other crises can contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline anonymously at any time.

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.