“I wanted to be in this type of program.” Gisselle Estrada, a sophomore in Hope Squad said “ I think mental health is really important. And it doesn’t get talked about. Resources get depleted, some are there but not as much as other things, especially student wise”. 

Hope Squad is a peer-to-peer suicide prevention organization. It was founded in 2004 by Dr. Greg Hudnall, who was a school principal in Utah. His school district started to experience several student suicides, and based on knowledge it was found that students tend to talk to their peers than to adults, that inspired district members to create Hope Squad.

“I know a couple of my friends and family who have experienced mental health problems”.  Junior Felixity  Lockett, a student member in Hope Squad said “ I feel like that’s the reason why I was picked to join. Not just that but how I helped and guided them through the situation, and gave them motivation to keep going.”

 Hope Squad student members do not act as counselors, they are trained to recognize warning signs in their peers and get students who are struggling to trusted adults for help. The method they are trained on is called QPR, which stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer.

“We need to be there for each other,” Estrada  said  “I get really happy knowing that I helped someone feel more comfortable. No one is going to judge you, no one will think you’re weird.”

Lockett said that when people hear the word suicide prevention, they think it’s extreme.  “It is not necessarily extreme, “Lockett said. “It doesn’t have to get to that point for you to be able to talk to someone.” 

This year some of the Bowie High School Hope Squad members attended the Growing Strong 2025 Health Summit in Benbrook, TX, which was sponsored by Texas Health. Members learned how movement facilitates good mental health.

“It’s all year-round stuff that we do,” Lockett said.  “Small things like putting notes up in the hallway and bigger things like posters on the wall with motivational themes just to help people. We also connect with Hope Squads from other schools.”

Bowie Counselor Stephanie Springer said they work hard to educate the school community about mental health and suicide prevention.

“Hope Squad seeks to normalize conversations about mental health and let the student body know that it’s ok not to be ok,” she said.