School Resources - Hope Squad

The Helpline Center provides many resources for schools and communities to implement to be prepared to assist someone at risk for suicide. Suicide is a preventable public health concern. One of the ways we can prevent suicide is to engage in open conversation about it.

Helpline Center staff also provide short presentations to students to educate them about 988, mental health, and suicide prevention. There is a speaking fee and travel expenses for the presentations.

If you are interested in a presentation, please contact us at training@helplinecenter.org.

988 Mental Health Counselors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Hope Squad

Helpline Center is partnering with the South Dakota Department of Health and South Dakota Schools to launch and support Hope Squads. For more information about Helpline Center's role as a Hope Squad Community Partner or to learn about how to launch a Hope Squad at your school contact hopesquad@helplinecenter.org

What is Hope Squad? Hope Squad is a school-based peer support team that partners with local mental health agencies. Peers select students who are trustworthy and caring to join the Hope Squad.

How does Hope Squad work? Squad members are trained by advisors to watch for at-risk students, provide friendship, identify suicide warning signs, and seek help from adults. The program reduces the risk of youth suicide through education, training, and peer intervention. To learn more about the history and efficacy of Hope Squad programming visit hopesquad.com

Helpline Center's current Hope Squad partner schools include:

Harrisburg North Middle School
Harrisburg East Middle School
Harrisburg South Middle School
Harrisburg Freshman Academy
Brookings High School

Wagner Middle School
Wagner High School
Chamberlain High School
Hanson Middle School

School-Based Resources

Suicide prevention efforts in schools are typically led by school counselors, mental health professionals, or social workers. However, it is important to know that a comprehensive suicide prevention program includes education components for school administrators, faculty, staff, parents and students. This helps to create an entire school community that is prepared to assist someone at risk of suicide.

Crisis Planning for Schools

It is important for a school community to have a crisis plan in place, ideally before there is a suicide loss. This helps the school and others involved to be aware of the critical roles they play in providing resources and support and to be able to respond in an organized manner following a death by suicide or suicide attempt.

The Helpline Center provides support and guidance in the development of this plan, please reach out to us to learn more.

Preventing Suicide: Toolkits for Schools

Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools is available for free download from SAMHSA. It assists school personnel in designing and implementing strategies that prevent suicide and promote behavioral health.

After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools assists schools in implementing a coordinated response to the suicide death of a student. Originally developed in 2011, the second edition includes new information and tools that middle and high schools can use to help the school community cope and reduce suicide risk.

Highlights of the second edition include:

Updated information on such topics as memorialization, social media, and contagion
Updated resource lists
A new tool to help with decision-making about memorials
New examples of how different communities have addressed specific issues in responding to a suicide death

Suicide Prevention Training for Teachers

A web-based training for school personnel is available online through STPS, click here for a brochure. This free, interactive series “Making Educators Partners in Suicide Prevention” is designed to be completed at the viewer’s own pace. It is open to anyone who is interested in reviewing current strategies for youth suicide prevention in schools. Visit STPS to register, the 4th course listed is specifically for those in South Dakota.

Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)

SPRC offers a page for high school teachers that contains information on recognizing and responding to warning signs, resource materials about suicide prevention, including programs, as well as other suicide prevention information relevant to teachers.

SPRC also offers a page for high school mental health providers that contains information on recognizing and responding to warning signs, resource materials about suicide prevention, including programs, as well as other suicide prevention information relevant to school health providers.

Good Behavior Game

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a universal classroom-based behavior management strategy for elementary school that teachers use along with a school’s standard instructional curricula. GBG uses a classroom-wide game format with teams and rewards to socialize children to the role of student. It aims to reduce aggressive, disruptive classroom behavior, which is a shared risk factor for later problem behaviors, including adolescent and adult illicit drug abuse, alcohol abuse, cigarette smoking, antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), violent and criminal behavior, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. (SPRC)