According to the National Education Association in 2022, 15% of teens suffered a major depressive episode in the past year and 60% of teens with depression did not get treatment.

Hope Squad is a new organization at PLHS whose mission is to bring awareness to and prevent suicide.

This group has several purposes that will hopefully have a positive impact on the entire PLHS community.

“Hope Squad is for us as a school to promote an environment that is more understanding of suicide and to ultimately prevent suicide in our building,” faculty advisor Mr.Tony Ripa said.

Hope Squad wasn’t just something you signed up for, members were asked to join through recommendations by their classmates.

“Students were nominated by their peers because they are trustworthy and people think they are easy to talk to,” freshman Abby Reilly said.

This organization is full of topics and things that can be incredibly heavy for members to deal with. Making the decision to join was easy for some participants because of the importance of the issues it supports.

“I was asked first but I think it’s an extremely important thing and I am very privileged to be an advisor on Hope Squad because its such a big deal- preventing suicide,” Ripa said. “It was not a difficult decision when I was asked.”

Hope Squad participants have many aspirations for themselves, the school, and the group itself.

“We have a concrete goal of preventing suicides in our school, that is the ultimate goal,” Ripa said. “Any suicide is tragic and we want to make sure we do our best to prevent it. I really hope that the people of our school really start to look up to people in Hope Squad and know they can trust the members and count on them for anything they might need.”

Reaching out and accepting that you need help is often one of the hardest parts of getting treated for a mental health issue. The students of Hope Squad want to make this step easier.

“Our school needs a Hope Squad because we need people who different students can trust to seek out for help,” Reilly said.

Along with watching out for students in need, the Hope Squad has other plans to bring information to the school in a useful and beneficial way.

“Hope Squad is planning to do a Hope Week next month to create positive awareness throughout the school, and to bring everyone closer together,” Reilly said.

Hope Squad is looking to do some good, make a change, and improve the lives of the students at PLHS. They want to spread the message of positivity and optimism: “Nothing is ever as bad as it seems [and] there are ways to get help,” Ripa said. “There are people who care about you whether you know it or not.”