Kids talk to kids. Darien resident Jeff Fuller said that is the key concept in helping prevent suicide.
When his 17-year old son, Cole, ended his life April 4, he remembers the messages received from Cole’s classmates.
“Just so guilt-ridden,” Fuller said. “We all knew something was wrong. For kids to talk to adults is what we all want, but kids want to talk to kids.”
When Cole died, instead of flowers, people donated to the Mental Health America of Wisconsin. With around $25,000 raised, Fuller said that money would be used to start Hope Squads in the schools.
Fuller said he has the funds to start this program in four schools.
The Delavan-Darien School District approved employing the Hope Squad suicide intervention program at its July 22 board meeting. The Elkhorn Area School District Board also approved the program recently.
Mary Burke, Director of Pupil Services and Special Education in Delavan, said the staff will attend training for the program Sept. 13.
Fuller said the program will be provided free to the schools. It includes the cost of curriculum and training. After that, the program will be $500 a year, Fuller said.
“Kids are selecting the kids who they can talk to and trust,” Burke said. “Students get nominated, and kids choose the kids so there is a good cross section of kids. The kids are coached how to talk to an adult for help. That is the beauty of the program.”
Hope Squad is a national nonprofit organization that uses peer intervention to help with suicide prevention. According to its website, Hope Squad members are trained to watch for at-risk students, provide friendship, seek adults for help and identify warning signs.
“There is a huge void in society with how we look at mental health,” Fuller said. “Kids can learn to talk to classmates and hopefully that will feed to adults. It is helping kids engage with classmates who are struggling.”
Cole lived in Darien and attended Elkhorn Area High School, where he was No. 27 on the football team, and then attended Milton High School.
“I did not come up with this in my basement”
While EAHS and DDHS approved this program, Fuller said he found it disconcerting that two schools, Milton and Muskego, turned down the free program.
“It is unbelievable,” Fuller said. “It was about ego and politics.”
He said Milton wanted to do a different program.
“If schools can have football fields, but not this? They want control,” he said.
Some schools, he added, will say they want to bring in more counselors to handle the program.
“But kids talk to kids,” he said. “It is a waste of money to do anything different.”
Fuller said he researched programs, and this one has been successful and was recommended to him.
“I did not come up with this in my basement,” he said. “Elkhorn and Delavan have been great.
Keep an eye on Southern Lakes Newspapers’ publications, which will feature a series of stories about local efforts to increase awareness of mental health issues and suicide prevention in the coming weeks.
