The month of May is Mental Health Awareness month, and to honor this, the Salmon River Sources of Strength group invited high school students and staff to participate in “Colors Week” from May 13 to 16.

Each day of Colors Week, students and staff were asked to wear one of two of (or both) specific colors, symbolizing different strengths. The goal was to help students identify and celebrate their own personal strengths.

The mission of Sources of Strength is to prevent suicide by fostering help-seeking behaviors and promoting connections between peers and caring adults. This proactive approach strengthens multiple sources of support (protective factors) around young people so that when times get hard they have strengths to rely on.

The eight strengths on the Sources of Strength wheel represent family support, positive friends, mentors, healthy activities, generosity, spirituality, physical health and mental health.

Throughout Colors Week, the Sources of Strength group was set up in the Salmon River High School lobby during lunch periods. They engaged students in discussions about their strengths, distributed resources, facilitated activities and offered ballots for a prize drawing for those wearing the designated colors.

A special thanks to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Alcoholism/Chemical Dependency Program and Native Connections Grant for providing prizes, lollipops, backdrop and props!

To wrap up the week, on Thursday, May 16, the Sources of Strength team attended the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Youth Mental Health Walk at Generations Park. They shared information about the Sources of Strength program, promoted positive messaging during the walk and handed out promotional items to community members.

We would like to extend our gratitude to St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Mental Health Services for the invitation.