New program at school will seek out, train "natural helpers"

Who does a student with personal problems turn to in a time of need? Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High School is bringing back a program that helps students with problems connect with peers they can talk to about them.

A new “Natural Helpers” program at Lake Roosevelt is identifying who students turn to for help, and sending them on a retreat so they can learn how to better help their peers when they need someone to talk to.

Natural Helpers was a program last in the high school 20 years ago but “collapsed because of a lack of funding,” said Jesse Utz, Pathways coordinator at LR, as he explained the program to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Oct. 11.

“When I went [to Lake Roosevelt] in 1991, I was probably not going to graduate,” Utz said. “Then I went to Natural Helpers and realized I had some self worth.”

Utz noted a growing concern about suicide and depression in the community, and a shortage of counselors in the school as motivating factors towards bringing back the program.

“Our counseling department went from two counselors and two psychologists to one academic counselor and one psychologist because of funding, and they are overworked,” Utz said. “So we saw all this stuff happening, and we knew there was a program.”

Bruce Shields, a former LR staff member who helped run Natural Helpers in the 1990s, recently trained eight LR staff members for the program.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 10-15 percent of teenagers are experiencing depression at any one time.

A recent survey asked students what they see as problems in the school and to whom they turn to talk about problems.

The survey revealed that bullying, including cyberbullying, is the top issue.

The survey results are being used to select 20 students, from different grades and cliques, to attend a three-day retreat at Diamond Ranch near Republic to be trained as “natural helpers.”

“We need to teach kids how to deal with stressful things,” Utz said. “When they see their friend deal with stressful things, how do they deal with that? How do they help their friend? And also, how do you know when it’s too much for you, and to bring it to the next level?”

The retreat will teach the natural helpers how to help peers deal with issues such as depression, suicide, drugs, alcohol, and physical and emotional abuse.

After the students come back from the retreat, they’ll have a monthly meeting to talk about what problems they’re seeing in the school, and how they can help others.

“The kids want a place where they can talk, and there isn’t that place right now,” Utz said about students having expressed a need for something like Natural Helpers.

The program is looking for additional funding, and those interested in donating should contact Utz or Kim Stanger at the high school at 633-1442.