BURLEY, Idaho — A 7th-grade class’s efforts to better understand the human brain have transformed into a digital resource for their fellow student's emotional needs.
They call it Project Resilience, a website created by Jessica Johnson’s human body class meant to provide mental health resources and spread awareness regarding suicide prevention.
“It makes me feel good that I'm helping others that need it,” said 7th-grade student Ayden Draper.
The class started the project after Johnson heard about a competition held by Pause, a Mini-Cassia non-profit dedicated to suicide prevention and awareness. Johnson tasked each of her students with jobs and broke them into groups. Each group was then responsible for a different aspect of the website. The main topic of the website is resiliency.
“Being able to talk about things with people or go somewhere and see that other people have gone through the exact same thing,” said 7th-grade student Emma DeTemple.
The website includes information on the science of resilience as well as videos of teachers and students who shared their stories of overcoming a challenge.
“For them to be able to see this need in their community, see this need in their peers, and then take it and use their strengths to make it better,” said Johnson.
Related: FINDING HOPE: SDE receives grant for youth suicide prevention
Their website has been entered into the Pause competition, and they will find out on April 21 whether or not they won.
“Oh, I'm definitely going to win,” said DeTemple. “I just think this is the best thing that could be in the running.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts and mental health, contact Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline at 208-398-4357 or the Crisis Hotline at 208-788-3596.
