As Mental Health Awareness Month came to a close in May, the Salmon River Sources of Strength group invited high school students and staff to participate in “Colors Week” from May 26–29. Each day, participants were encouraged to wear one or both designated colors representing different personal strengths. The initiative aimed to help students recognize, celebrate and build upon their own strengths.

Sources of Strength is a youth peer-led suicide prevention program that focuses on an “upstream” model. Its core mission is to increase help-seeking behaviors and foster strong connections between peers and caring adults. By strengthening multiple sources of support known as protective factors, the program helps equip young people with resilience to draw upon during challenging times.

The eight strengths represented on the Sources of Strength wheel include:

• Mentors
• Generosity
• Mental Health
• Physical Health
• Family Support
• Positive Friends
• Healthy Activities
• Spirituality

Throughout Colors Week, members of the Sources of Strength group hosted activities in the High School lobby during lunch periods. They engaged students and staff in conversations about personal strengths, distributed resources, facilitated activities and entered students wearing the designated colors into prize drawings.

Special thanks go to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe A/CDP Native Connections Grant for providing prizes and supporting the week’s activities.

On Thursday, May 29, the Sources of Strength team also participated in the Mental Health Awareness Walk at Generations Park. During the event, students shared information about the Sources of Strength program, promoted positive mental health messaging and distributed promotional items to community members.

We would also like to extend our gratitude to St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Health Services Mental Health – Kanikonri:ihne for the invitation.