On Friday, November 6, 1N5 facilitated the Sources of Strength training at Lakota Plains Junior School for 13 students who were selected to be peer leaders. We were able to practice physically distancing and hold in-person training! Students were trained on what the eight Sources of Strength, or protective factors, people rely on when experiencing challenging times in life.
The peer leader’s mission is to be connectors to Help and Agents of Change. The students are powerful influencers in their social networks and work to change norms and perceptions of Trusted Adults, share and normalize important mental health supports and services, and model and encourage help-seeking behaviors for one’s self or for a friend who is struggling. The immersive training allows students to identify their own areas of strength while encouraging students to pick one Strength they can build up. The peer leaders will meet twice a month to plan school-wide campaigns to promote the Sources of Strength to the rest of the student body in order to create a positive shift in school climate and culture. Take a look at what the CDC has to say about the power of Sources of Strength. Contact info@1N5.org to learn more about implementing Sources of Strength programming in your school.
Sources of Strength is an upstream, evidence-based suicide, bullying, violence, and substance-abuse prevention program. Sources of Strength focuses on building up students projective factors to increase resiliency so that when they are met with the challenges life brings, they can rely on numerous Sources of Strength ( family support, positive friends, mentors, healthy activities, generosity, spirituality, medical access, and mental health). Sources of Strength programs are in over 4,000 schools in the US and is listed on SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices.