Student Peer Leaders "Create Waves" in Second Year of Students Supporting Students Program
CHDI's Students Supporting Students (Triple S) program has wrapped up its second year partnering with four Connecticut schools to train and empower students to support the mental health and well-being of their peers, and the results are in: as one student put it, the program has "created waves in the community."
Developed in response to CT Public Act 22-47 and grounded in current research and national best practices, Triple S trains middle and high school students to provide mental health information and support to their peers at school. CHDI's team—led by Senior Associate Jamie LoCurto, PhD, Senior Project Coordinator Meghan Flynn, PhD, and Project Coordinator Gianna Mendes, MS—provides no-cost training and support to staff advisors and student peer teams as well as access to peer support program guides and other resources.
After piloting the program during the 2024-25 school year, Highville Charter School (New Haven), Lebanon Middle School and Lyman Memorial High School (Lebanon), and Bristol Eastern High School (Bristol) continued and deepened their participation in the program during the 2025-26 year. With the support of trained adult advisors, each school's peer support team developed a slogan and hosted a kick-off event to introduce themselves to the school community and to offer mental health support and information.
Read on to see examples of the student peer teams' work as well as overall program results from year two.
By the end of the year, students described Triple S as increasingly visible within and outside the school community, with one student from Lebanon Middle School describing it as "creating waves in the community."
Year 2 Highlights: Participating Schools and Slogans
Slogan: L.A.N.C.E.R.S. (Let's Talk. Always Care. Notice the Signs. Check in Regularly. Everyone Matters. Raise Awareness. Students Supporting Students.)
Slogan: M.I.N.T.S. (Mental health is real, Inform about effective supports, Notice and recognize the signs, Tell an adult right away if someone mentions suicide, Self-care): The Refresh
Slogan: Brains need hugs, not shrugs.
Slogan: Shatter the silence.
Student-led activities
Bristol Eastern High School organized and hosted a tabling event during lunch waves to introduce the peer team and talk about mental health stigma.
Highville Charter School distributed self-care kits to the entire school and purchased t-shirts with the phrase, "Nothing can dim the light that shines within," for the peer team.
Lebanon Middle School hosted the Miles for Minds community walk in October to introduce the peer team to the community and promote local behavioral health resources.
Lyman Memorial High School hosted an assembly where the peer team explained their purpose, went over M.I.N.T. (Mental health is real, Inform about effective supports, Notice and recognize the signs, and Tell an adult right away if someone mentions suicide), and modeled how to have supportive conversations.
Triple S Data Overview
61 students
serving on peer support teams
75 peer-to-peer conversations
about mental health and how to seek help
1,782 students
trained in NAMI Ending the Silence
61 students
trained by CHDI and as NAMI Student Navigators
8 adults
serving as peer team advisors (school staff members)
"The most meaningful moments were the activities that directly involved the student body and encouraged conversations about mental health. It was rewarding to see students participate and engage with the messages we were sharing."
Learn More About Students Supporting Students
Issue Brief 90: Students Helping Students
Learn more about the research behind school-based Peer Support programs in our 2023 Issue Brief.
Similar programs have found a positive impact on the well-being (e.g., increases in mental health knowledge and self-esteem) of both the students receiving peer support and those serving on the peer team. Peer team members will also strengthen their leadership and communication skills.
Student peer support teams can also play an important role in fostering a positive, inclusive, supportive culture for the entire school community.
Bringing Triple S to Your School
Currently, Triple S cohorts are participating through CONNECT IV; we hope to support more schools in implementing the model in the future! We encourage any interested schools to download our program guides and handouts and to contact us.