The Mounds View chapter of Sources of Strength met for the first time earlier this month on Dec. 4. Sources of Strength is a school-based program that focuses on preventing suicide among middle and high school students, as well as promoting mental health awareness and creating positive connections between students and staff.

In 1998, Mark LoMurray founded Sources of Strength (SOS) in Bismarck, North Dakota. As the head of the local Police Youth Bureau, LoMurray attended many funerals of teens who died due to reasons that he believed could have been prevented, such as overdoses, drunk driving accidents and suicides, and decided to found Sources of Strength to increase prevention efforts. Since then, the organization has spread across the country with hundreds of chapters in 38 states. 

Deans Kasim Shahzad, Sarah Hatalla, Meghan Childs and mental health specialist Chad Jayasekera lead Mounds View’s chapter of SOS. Originally, they attempted to start a chapter two years ago after receiving a grant but failed to get it off the ground due to low interest. However, this year, they found success. “Last year was kind of a rebuilding year, and then [we tried] again this year with a different group of people that are interested, different group of students,” said Hatalla. 

While other organizations are reactionary, waiting until a student experiences mental health issues to help them, Sources of Strength takes a different approach by focusing on improving students’ mental health before they have a crisis. “The interesting thing about Sources of Strength was that it tackled it in a way that I’ve not personally seen it before,” said Shahzad. “[The goal] was to kind of catch [an issue] before it got to a point where a student was in dire need or stress.” 

Each meeting is structured with several parts, beginning with a game for students to connect with each other, and then a time of sharing, where students discuss different components of the Sources of Strength wheel. “You’ll see on [the Sources of Strength] website, they’ll have wheels with different categories, like gratitude, family, and so it’s about a little bit of sharing just to connect as a group,” said Hatalla. The wheel includes mental health, family support, positive friends, mentors, healthy activities, generosity, spirituality and physical health. 

They also think of ways to educate the community through activities that involve students. “We meet monthly/bi-monthly in the MAC classrooms or through activities and ‘field trips.’ At the meetings, we think of ways to raise awareness and things we can do to include our school in SOS and mental health awareness. We make posters about ideas we can gather on what we can do,” junior and SOS member Leena Bassas said. 

The objective of Sources of Strength is to make mental health a regular topic. “[The goal is] to normalize it more than what it already is. I think post-COVID, we’ve seen a great leap in normalizing mental health, but I think there’s still a lot of work to do,” Shazad said. 

Many students are enthusiastic about the new club. “I joined because I wanted to make a difference. Suicide is a very big issue that is not nearly addressed as much as it should be,” Bassas said. 

The club has gained support from staff as well. “We all have a genuine interest in mental health, and our students, and supporting our students and building community,” said Hatalla. “It’s a fun way to build community and get to know more people.”

Even if students are not interested in joining the club, they can still support SOS by participating in programs that SOS leads, which will come out as the school year progresses. Examples at other schools have included gratitude walls where students write what they are grateful for. 

SOS members hope that the club will have a lasting positive impact on the community. “It’s the prevention by creating a culture of positive things, and hope and gratitude, so people feel like they’re connected and belonging here,” said Hatalla.