Zeruiah Branch wants to be a source of strength for her peers — promoting wellbeing, resiliency and a sense of belonging.
“My goal is that it spreads worldwide and it just makes the world a better place,” the fifth-grade Riverside student said.
Zeruiah is one of 20 fifth- and sixth-grade students in the Lackawanna County district to serve as peer advisors for the Sources of Strength program. By encouraging students to use their strengths and connect to resources, the program tries to prevent suicide, violence, bullying and substance misuse. Instead of responding to crises, the mission is to prevent crises from ever happening.
One in five high school students seriously considered attempting suicide in 2023, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicide rates have increased dramatically in preteens as young as 8 years old.
Riverside launched its Sources of Strength program this year. This model builds multiple sources of support for young people so that when times get hard, they have strengths to rely on. The peer advisers help spread the messaging and can encourage classmates to seek help from trusted adults.
“They need resources to reach out to and help problem solve and have the strengths within themselves to identify what they're feeling, how they're feeling and how to process it,” said Corie Dructor, a sixth-grade learning support teacher. “So I think this program really gives them that platform to not only help themselves, but help the other students in their class when they see them struggling.”
The students gathered at the high school on Tuesday, introducing the program and showcasing posters to parents, administrators and school board directors.
“This program is so necessary for our student body,” said Shannon Wells, a licensed professional counselor in the district. “Suicide has definitely become a real issue in the schools, and we're finding that preventative measures are so important, especially when they're coming from peers themselves.”
Sources of Strength is funded through a state grant and will be in 19 schools across Pennsylvania by the end of the school year, said Dan Krupinsky, statewide project coordinator. Wyoming Valley West High School had a training last week, he said.
“Schools are always looking for something like this program,” he said. “They want wellness. They want, obviously, suicide prevention. This is a very, very different way of doing suicide prevention.”
Posters focused on elements in a multicolor wheel: mental health, physical health, spirituality, generosity, healthy activities, mentors, positive friends and family support.
Sixth grader Branden Webb’s poster focused on the importance of having positive friends. He said he’s excited to help his peers.
“Sometimes they could get, bad thoughts, like suicidal thoughts, and you want to avoid that,” he said. “Our group, we could help them not think those thoughts.”
Libby Saunders, a fifth grader, made a poster about generosity.
“Spread the kindness to the world, because the world is not so kind anymore,” she said.
