MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — A group of Middletown High School students plan to take a time out during a big football game to bring awareness to mental health.
Normally when schools are preparing to go head to head on the gridiron, it's all about rivalry. But on Friday, Middletown and Lakota East's "Hope Squads" will focus on mental health under the Friday night lights. The organizations are peer-to-peer suicide prevention groups.
"We're playing against each other and we want to win, we want to beat you, but we want to show that we're in this together," senior Keeghan Willis said. "Mental health is separate from the football game — we're humans of the same world."
Anyone who walks into Middletown's school this week will be greeted by a large yellow banner reading 'United for Hope.' At lunch, students are asked to sign the banner and buy a t-shirt to promote the cause. Football players will later run through the banner at Barnitz Stadium.
After last year's Hope Night was canceled and the pandemic continues on, students say highlighting mental health like this is way overdue.
"High school is a big transitioning time for your age especially. It's time to know more about yourself, more of what you want and more of what you should do," senior Clark Jorelvelasu said. "And with COVID coming in, people are really confused."
Members of the Hope Squad are nominated by their peers to join the organization and go through training. Their adviser said this helps students feel more comfortable coming to the Hope Squad for proper resources.
"These kids are saving lives and that's pretty powerful," Middletown Hope Squad adviser Stephanie Cooper said. "They want to make a difference in the world and I can say these kids definitely are."
Both the Middies' and Lakota East's Hope Squads will be recognized at halftime of the football game. Before the game, they'll hand out mental health awareness items.
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