By Crystal McGough, Editor
TRUSSVILLE – Students from Hewitt-Trussville High School’s FOCUS after school program gathered together Sunday, Nov. 5, to participate in Hoover’s annual suicide prevention Out of the Darkness Walk.
Hoover holds the Out of the Darkness Walk each year at Veteran’s Park on Valleydale Road in order raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention. Various organizations throughout the state come to share resources with those who have lost a loved one to suicide, as well as those struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts.
“FOCUS is a state program for the purpose of reducing risky behaviors in adolescents and promoting healthy choices,” HTHS FOCUS sponsor Dana DePew said. “We try to do something every month, and this month we decided to coincide with this and do a Mental Health Awareness Week.”
DePew said attending the walk was the culmination of the high school’s Mental Health Awareness Week.
“We’ve been giving students tips on how to be a good friend, especially for someone who may be struggling with mental health issues,” she said. “We’ve been focusing more on how to be a friend and how to recognize if one of your friends is going through mental health issues and how to reach out to them. There’s a program online called Seize the Awkward, and we’ve used a lot of the tips from that. It’s awkward sometimes to reach out to somebody who you’re worried about, but that could sometimes be the very thing that gets them help.”
Sue Jones, director and co-founder of Alabama’s statewide FOCUS program, was also present at the event to support Hewitt-Trussville High School’s efforts toward suicide awareness and prevention.
“FOCUS is a state-wide funded project, and we have schools like Hewitt-Trussville all across the state, and it’s student-led prevention of adolescent risk behaviors,” Jones said. “We focus on those things that the students have a keen interest in, like suicide prevention, vaping, underaged drinking; all the things that kids can engage in and provide information for their peers. It’s peer led.”
While HTHS has implemented the program as an extracurricular activity, Jones said Alabama FOCUS also offers a course code through the Alabama State Department of Education where counselors can enroll people into a FOCUS class.
“Some schools implement it that way, but the majority of our schools have it as an extracurricular,” she said. “Peer helping and community service are the two main components of FOCUS, because we know the common thread through all prevention projects is helping your peers, helping other people, and then helping others through the community. So, we try to partner community – like this is a community event – with schools. We promote school-community partnerships.”
For more information on how FOCUS is helping local schools and students prevent risk behavior in adolescents, please visit www.thefocusprogram.com