- Practice supporting a friend who is struggling with their mental health
- Learn practical tips for what to say when you want to be there for a friend
- Improve peer-to-peer support skills across the whole student body
- Teens often turn to their friends or peers when struggling with their mental health before an adult
- Recent studies show that a key reason teens DON’T reach out for help is the fear of being a burden
- There is a reported gap between teens who say they feel comfortable talking to their friends about mental health, and those who actually do
- Whole school
- Principal/Administration
- Teachers or lunch monitors to support the facilitation of the campaign
- Student government or leadership to help lead efforts
- Other student clubs and organizations
- Consider groups that may reach different teens in your school and encourage them to participate in this campaign, such as sports teams, student government, theater, cultural and identity-based student groups, etc.
- EASY AS 1, 2, 3
- This campaign will take place across 3 days and have 3 main actions tied to it:
- Action 1: folks fill out a prompt sticker to respond to the first text from the “friend” on poster 1
- Action 2: folks fill out a prompt sticker to respond to the second text from the “friend” on poster 2
- Action 3: folks fill out an “I will speak up and act louder” pledge card and hang it on the wall next to the posters
- This campaign will take place across 3 days and have 3 main actions tied to it:
- To prep for the campaign, get permission to hang up the posters and have cards taped up around the poster as well
- Make sure you pick a central and visible location for the poster, like the main hallway or the cafeteria so everyone in the school can see it
- Also, consider whose role it will be to staff the table and when, and who will be responsible for making sure that nothing inappropriate is being written and hung up
- We suggest that you only have writing materials available when someone is there to monitor
- We encourage you to use our script for guidance on explaining the campaign on the morning announcements, during lunches, and even when folks approach the posters and want to participate
- The poster has a 5 message text conversation on it, mimicking a conversation between two friends. The “friend” in this scenario seems to be acting a little off, and you are asking the student body to act as the texter here and fill out prompt cards for how they would respond to each text. check out an example of the poster here and read on for specific instructions for each day of the campaign!
- Day 1
- Hang up poster 1, which says “How Will You Speak Up?” Only the first two texts should be visible (do not hang up the second poster yet)
- As folks come up to the poster, encourage them to think about how they would respond if they received a response like that from their friend
- In other words, ask “How would you speak up? How would you ask if a friend is ok?”
- Folks should then write a text reply on their prompt sticker and tape it up around the blank text bubble
- Their responses should mimic a response and say things like “Are you good?” “What’s wrong?”
- Day 2
- Now hang up the second poster, which says “How Will You Act Louder?” below the first so that our friend’s second text can be revealed. This text makes it clear that something is wrong
- Now, encourage participants to think about how they would respond if this were their real friend. In other words, “How would you act louder? How would you take action to support your friend?” you take action for your friend
- Folks should then write a text reply on their prompt sticker and tape it up around the blank text bubble
- Their responses should mimic a response and say things like “I’m worried about you & I’m facetiming you now” or “I’m coming over after school so we can talk.”
- Now hang up the second poster, which says “How Will You Act Louder?” below the first so that our friend’s second text can be revealed. This text makes it clear that something is wrong
- Day 3
- During morning announcements (and at lunch, classes, etc), it’s announced that the posters are complete
- Follow the script to encourage folks to stop by to read it and then fill out a pledge card committing to speak up and act louder next time they see a friend struggling
- They’ll then receive an “I will speak up & act louder” pin to add to their bags
- Bonus: if you’ve also completed We Belong Week, folks can show off that they’ve earned BOTH pins!
- The pledge cards should then be taped up with the poster, leaving you with a visual of messages of support and care to a friend, plus commitments to practice these skills in real life
- Day 1
- General tips:
- Leave the poster up for as long as you can!
- We definitely recommend leaving it up at least through May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month
- Have the Help is Here resource available near the poster throughout the week so anyone can grab them.
- Keep the Be There Certificate cards visible and encourage participants to continue growing their skills by getting certified!
- Leave the poster up for as long as you can!
- Want to take it a step further?
- Host a school-wide competition to see which grade can get the most Be There Certificate completions
- Hang up the Be There Certificates around the original Speak Up, Act Louder posters.
- You can even host a discussion and use our discussion guide here!
- Host a school-wide competition to see which grade can get the most Be There Certificate completions
- A day or two before the Speak Up, Act Louder initiative begins, start advertising it on the morning announcements, school news, social media, and any other methods your school uses to announce events.
- You can use the script for promoting the campaign and explaining the instructions!
- Continue to make announcements throughout the week as the initiative progresses and the instructions for responding to the poster change
- Consider reading the instructions in multiple ways–see if different student leaders can make a quick announcement during lunch periods, their other club or sports meetings, and classes to encourage more folks to engage. You can even ask some teachers and coaches to promote it as well.
- Having students and staff who can positively influence teens to participate is a great way to boost engagement, especially when they can reach folks from lots of different social circles!
- Make sure the poster is in an accessible and visible location so folks can easily come across it.
- How many folks came back to participate in all 3 days of the campaign? Even a handful is a success!
- If you can get even 10% of the student body to sign a pledge card and take a button, that’s 10% more people who are committed to supporting a friend and that is a win!
- Did you get any new members/interest in your OMM club after folks participated? Also success!
- Did you notice folks talking more about mental health, supporting a friend, or asking questions?
- What went well? What could have gone better?
- For schools with an OMM club:
- Was this helpful for club recruitment? Why or why not?
- For schools without an OMM club
- Did this campaign generate interest in starting a mental-health-focused club? Why or why not?
- What is our next step for starting an OMM club?
- hint: contact [email protected]