Mission and Vision
The Sources of Strength Mission:
Our mission is to provide the highest quality prevention for suicide,violence, and substance abuse by training, supporting and empowering both peer leaders and caring adults to impact their friendship networks and by using rigorous testing to maximize health and protection in the real world.
The Sources of Strength Vision:
We lead in the field of suicide prevention by respecting differences in individuals, communities and cultures and by drawing out stories of strength and healing. Many strengths are more powerful than one, and our united goal is to activate and mobilize these strengths in ways that positively change individuals and communities
Core Principals:
- Train both peer leaders and adults – one without the other lacks prevention power
- Use peer leaders to break down codes of silence and increase peer help seeking
- Core emphasis on strengths that move beyond a singular focus on risk and suicide warnings
- Multiple sources of support are encouraged – including but moving beyond a singular focus on mental health referrals
- Hope, Help, and Strength messages delivered by peer leaders using local faces and voices
Students name trusted adults and create a growing wall of resources and supports in one NY school
Goals of Sources of Strength:
To Increase:
- Overall adult-youth connectedness and bonding
- Youth help seeking from trusted adults
- Referrals of distressed peers to supportive adults
- Coping skills and health promotion of youth based on Sources of Strength protective factors
- Peer leaders knowledge of suicide prevention and how to help emotionally distressed or suicidal peers
To Decrease:
- Codes of silence among peer leaders and social networks
- Stigma surrounding suicide and mental illness
- Isolation and a lack of trust in adults
- To decrease injuries and self harm related to suicide, substance abuse and violence
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