• About Student-run Prevention Activities • Prevention Activities Examples • Implementation Forms • Participating Schools • Trevor R. Simpson Award • Student Voices • For Educators and Administrators • A Principal's Letter

H.E.L.P. Curriculum Training

The H.E.L.P. (Helping Every Living Person) Curriculum Project is a collaboration between the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and YSPP.

YSPP is indebted to Leigh Manheim - a survivor of her son's completed suicide - who advocated for state funding through her senator, Phil Rockefeller, and her representative, Sherry Appleton. We are also indebted to the Washington State Legislature for the allocation that was included in the 2007-2009 budget. Lisa Watson continues to coordinate the project; oversight for the project's implementation comes from the School Safety Advisory Committee.

Final evaluation results from the 2006-2007 school year show a significant increase in students' comfort and willingness to communicate with a suicidal friend. Evaluation also reveals a dramatic decrease in students' belief that talking about suicide will plant the idea in a peer's head.

For additional information on the H.E.L.P. Curriculum Project, please contact the H.E.L.P. Project Coordinator, Lisa Watson at lisa@yspp.org.