Feb. 12 Declared ‘Day Of Hope’ By Gov. Herbert
Feb 13, 2020, 7:44 PM
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed a proclamation declaring Feb. 12 as a Day of Hope in the Beehive State.
The proclamation came as student members of “Hope Squads” worked with lawmakers to raise awareness for suicide prevention.
Hope Squad is a peer-to-peer training program, teaching students how to identify the signs of depression and suicidal peers and empowering them to seek out help.
“It’s difficult to walk up to people in crisis and especially when it’s your peers,” said Katie Duvall, president of the Hope Squad’s national council. “But as a council, we help them understand that they’re empowered to do that and everyone has this amazing value and they’re encouraged to share their heart.”
Students took part in hope-promoting activities, including doing random acts of kindness for their classmates, writing kind notes to their peers and wearing yellow for suicide prevention awareness.
There are members of Hope Squads in more than 700 schools.
