HOPE MEANS NEVADA INVITES HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO JOIN TEEN COMMITTEE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

HOPE MEANS NEVADA INVITES HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO JOIN TEEN COMMITTEE

Members Serve Key Role in Mental Health Awareness Movement

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LAS VEGAS (July 2022) – Hope Means Nevada (HMN), the community-based non-profit focused on eliminating youth suicide in the state, invites Nevada high school students to join its Teen Committee. With 988, the brand-new, three-digit dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline that launched on July 16, Hope Means Nevada is searching for Teen Committee members representing Nevada’s diverse population to serve as key volunteers of the mental health awareness movement to help save lives.

Founded in April 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, HMN’s teen committee was originally established as a resource for teens struggling with mental health and isolation caused by school shutdowns. Today, the HMN Teen Committee continues to provide a community of hope and advocates for mental wellness. Recently, the committee helped pass Nevada Senate Bill 249, which allows for up to three mental health days per school year for Nevada students and mandated a suicide hotline number be posted on all student I.D. cards. 

As part of the Teen Committee, members:

• Volunteer their time working alongside the HMN co-chairs, executive director and communications director on staff partnerships, recruitment, fundraising, organizational and peer-to-peer support. 
• Attend and participate in virtual and in-person Teen Committee meetings and Hope Means Nevada events.
• Secure volunteers and participants to join the 2022 Walk & Talk Fest and 5K, to be held in October 2022.
• Utilize social media to share the organization’s key messages surround the importance of mental wellness. 
• Some Teen Committee members also have the opportunity to spread Hope Means Nevada’s messaging through interviews with media and by testifying before the State Legislature.

“Teen Committee members play an integral role in our mission to end teen suicide in Nevada,” says Julie Murray, co-chair, Hope Means Nevada. “The more Teen Committee members we have across the state participating in de-stigmatizing discussions around mental health, the greater our ability to help save lives.” 

To learn more about Teen Committee member positions or to apply, visit https://hopemeansnevada.org/join-us/.

ABOUT HOPE MEANS NEVADA
Hope Means Nevada is a community-based initiative of non-profit Nevada Medical Center focused on reversing the youth suicide trend in Nevada by inspiring a culture of empathy and advocacy around mental health. From the lasting impacts of COVID-19 to negative social media use, school shootings and other chaotic world events, many teens are experiencing heightened levels of stress, anxiety and depression. To raise overall awareness around Nevada’s high rates of mental health challenges and teen suicide, the organization provides teens with desperately needed resources and a community of hope. For more information about Hope Means Nevada, go to www.hopemeansnevada.org and follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The new National Suicide Prevention Hotline number is now three-digit dialing code 988. Those experiencing a mental health emergency can also text “Home” to 741741 to reach the National Crisis Text Line.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Erika Pope/ Vanessa Thill
The Vox Agency
erika@thevoxagency.com, vanessa@thevoxagency.com
(702) 249-2977, (469) 226-4723

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