Hope Squad, an organization dedicated to preventing and protecting students from thoughts of self-harm, has recently emerged. The students who have joined have intense passions for helping and pulling their peers out of the negative ruts that they find themselves in.

“I try my very hardest to notice people when they are feeling down and help them. And not just people that are having thoughts of suicide, but also people who don’t have a friend,” senior Elaina Olsen said. “I just notice those people because there are so many people at Davis who need friends so I want to make an impact on their lives.”

School counselor and adviser for the Davis Hope Squad, Robin Lawson, helped the members to realize the real meaning for Hope Squads across the country. The main idea is uniform across all the squads.

“The main goal for Hope Squad is suicide prevention,” Lawson said. “It’s to talk to students about suicide prevention and to talk to someone if you are feeling suicidal to know where you can go to get help. It even extends to adults too.”

Many of the students in Hope Squad have already helped others through their trials. The aid they provide has made an impact and continues to make an impact, even if only because students know that they have a safe place to run to when they are uncomfortable with themselves.

“We all know how it feels, I know I do, and it’s just not worth it to take your life over it. So what I hope to continue to achieve, if someone is struggling with it, that they come to me so I can help them as well,” senior Joshua Downs said. “One of the highest death rates among teens in Utah is suicide, I think that if we can even save one life, it’ll make a difference.”