LHHS to utilize prevention program
PEARCY — Sources of Strength training will be held this week for adults and students as Lake Hamilton High School becomes the second school in Garland County to implement the internationally recognized suicide prevention and comprehensive wellness program.
Student leaders are chosen to positively impact the larger student body as a whole by utilizing peer social networks to change unhealthy norms and culture and strengthen multiple sources of support for students. Sources of Strength is recognized as a best-practice youth suicide prevention project with programs in more than 20 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Australia, Canada, Uganda and in partnership with several Native American tribes.
“We are not going to be the experts on solving the problem,” said Jodi Chalmers, director of alternative programs in Lake Hamilton. “It is more about helping our kids find the right resources, making
them aware of what resources are available in the community and when they need it. Sometimes, you don’t know what you don’t know.”
Chalmers is the coordinator of the New Horizons alternative learning education school, which added classes for kindergarten through the eighth grade a year ago after enrollment increased from 35 to 90 high school students in the previous five years. She said she always searches for programs to benefit students.
“Even though suicide prevention is one piece of this, really we are promoting positive health and well-being all of the way around,” Chalmers said. “That is one of the reasons why we have been so successful here (at New Horizons).”
New Horizons graduated 30 students in May and Chalmers said half began in the program before their senior year. She said the district’s alternative programs have thrived with interventions and support for students.
Lake Hamilton added an Opportunity Academy last year through a successful application to become a School of Innovation and offer classes to some students outside of traditional school hours. Chalmers’ duties often overlap with prevention efforts as she oversees the Second Chance program for drug and alcohol education.
Susie Reece, violence prevention specialist for CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs and executive director for Suicide Prevention Allies, secured a grant for $5,000, the base level cost per school, team or group. Shawn Higginbotham, Lake Hamilton School District associate superintendent of finance and personnel, recommended Chalmers contact Reece for information about programs the district could utilize.
“Lake Hamilton administration and school board are amazing,” Chalmers said.
“I don’t know about other school districts, but with this school district, I have never had them say no to anything I have asked to do that I could show was a direct benefit to the kids,” Chalmers added.
The funds are provided through a subgrant from the Suicide Prevention Program within the Injury and Violence Prevention branch of the Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas became the final state in the country to receive funding from a Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Grant in 2014 when the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded the state $3.1 million.
Costs include training sessions, support for stakeholders, ongoing support for teams, webbased resources, print materials and templates. Technical assistance is provided with monthly teleconference support, planning materials and other resources.
Thursday and Friday’s sessions will be led by trainers from Colorado. Interested parties throughout the community and the state will attend the first day of training for adult advisers.
Sources of Strength was developed in North Dakota by Mark LoMurray in 1998 with rural communities and several North Plains tribes. It expanded throughout the state between 2000-2004 with more than 7,500 teenagers and young adults.
The program is now offered in partnership with hundreds of middle schools, high schools, universities, community centers, faith-based groups, detention centers, military branches, the Young Men’s Christian Association and various groups for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning community. Sources of Strength has been recognized by the American Association of Public Health, Suicide Prevention Resource Center, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and SAMHSA.
A group of adult advisers and a peer leader team use “hope, help, strength” messaging instead of negative themes to share and learn from other creative efforts. About 50-60 adult will attend training on Thursday and 40-50 students in grades 10-12 will attend training on Friday.
“We want our kids to create meaningful awareness campaigns that will reach their peers in a way that, as grown-ups, we just can’t,” Chalmers said.
Peer leaders are trained to use their network of friends to have one-on-one conversations, lead peer-to-peer presentations, develop video or digital messages, and develop a poster or public service announcement. Peer leaders help nominate and recruit new leadership teams each subsequent year.
New Horizons students were able to volunteer for the program if they were interested. Frank Stapleton, high school principal, asked his teachers to identify and invite students to participate.
A major component of Sources of Strength is ongoing engagement. Chalmers said peer leaders will be able to meet regularly and design campaigns to provide students with needed resources.
Joy Gray, Suicide Prevention Program manager, wrote the state’s grant for the Garrett Lee Smith funding and has worked with Reece on a state rollout with a grant from the national Catholic Health Initiatives system. The Sources of Strength model is being used to inform future programs targeted for specific demographics, such as older adults, military veterans and the LGBTQ community.