Highlights from STRIDES Sessions

We know it's hard to believe, but the second season of STRIDES is half way done! We are having such a terrific time with the students this season. The group is a bit bigger and the attitudes are so positive! We're going to share a couple of our favorite moments from the past couple weeks.

Anne: I think my favorite moment was last week when we had all of the students check in about the goals they had set a few weeks earlier for the 5k Run/Walk. At the beginning of the season, we had each student write down his/her goal for the 5k, steps to achieve the goal, barriers that might come up, and ways to overcome the barriers. Yesterday was our day to check in and see if they are doing what they need to do in order to achieve their goals, or if they need to re-assess the goal or change their efforts.

One student had never run before and set a goal to walk the 5k. He didn't want to run. However - with some encouragement - he has become quite the runner. He says before STRIDES he never got any exercise and that this is really good for him. On top of that, yesterday he announced to the group that he is changing his goal - he is going to try to jog the whole 5k! This group continues to impress me with their positive attitudes and their willingness to put an effort into the program. This story is an example of just what STRIDES is about - running can build confidence in teens and a group like STRIDES can offer support for teens to set their standards a little higher and work towards something they didn't think they were capable of. I can't wait to see his face on 5k day!

Ashley: My favorite moment of the season so far comes from the same session. During the physical activity component of most STRIDES sessions, we do run/walk activities that focus at the individual level. Participants decide what they want to accomplish each session to try to reach their ultimate 5k goal. Each season, though, we try to throw in team-building activities to help build our participants' social support.

After doing the goals check in, we decided to divide our participants into two groups for a relay race and upped the ante a bit by telling them we'd provide a special incentive to the winning team. One of our consistent walkers told me that she'd be running that day because she didn't want to let her teammates down. In fact, this was the first day that every single one of our participants ran the whole workout. The social support I gained during my years running competitive cross-country is, by far, the best thing the sport has given me, so I was especially proud to see eight smiling participants jumping up and down and cheering with wild abandon as each of their teammates completed their leg of the relay.

Social Environment and Suicide Prevention in LGBT Youth

On Monday, the Los Angeles Times covered a recent study in the journal Pediatrics that found that LGBT youth are at much higher risk for attempting suicide than their heterosexual peers (22% vs 5%). We have known this for a long time. However, this study offers new information about how the social environment contributes to this risk. A supportive, positive environment (such as schools with anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies and gay/straight alliances) was significantly associated with fewer suicide attempts among LGBT youth. In fact, these supportive environments were also associated with fewer suicide attempts among heterosexual youth.

Supportive environments in schools may reflect the broader supportive environments of the communities in which these youth live. As part of a broad, multi-level approach to suicide prevention, it is important to consider community - and school-level policies and programming - that will lend to a more supportive enviroment for LGBT youth.

For more information on suicide prevention for LGBT youth, visit: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/

New guidelines released today for reporting on suicide

New guidelines for journalists reporting on suicide were released today as a combined effort of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), and Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE). This report and other information is available at http://reportingonsuicide.org/.

According to SAVE executive director Dan Reidenberg, "Research shows that one of the best ways to prevent suicide is through safe media reporting. So in developing these recommendations, it was vital to work not only with suicide prevention experts, but also journalists to create a useful, straightforward tool that reporters and news media organizations can turn to when reporting on suicide."

A primary recommendation of this report is to include suicide warning signs and what to do if you know someone exhibiting any warning sign in these stories. Since the outset of STRIDES, one of our goals has been to increase awareness about suicide prevention. We hope that by reducing the stigma of talking about suicide prevention through media and community-level outreach, individuals who are in need of help will feel more comfortable and supported in doing so.

To see a list of suicide warning signs and suggestions for how you can help, visit their website here: http://reportingonsuicide.org/warning-signs-of-suicide/.

Recap on West Hollywood Women's Leadership Conference

Ashley and I had such a wonderful time at the West Hollywood Women's Leadership Conference. Hundreds of women with unique experiences and backgrounds came to the conference at Plummer Park in West Hollywood to talk about making change and being empowered leaders in our communities.

We sat on a panel titled, "Get Your Passion Off the Ground: Creating Your Own Community Event, Project, or Campaign, " and were joined by a diverse group of women taking leadership within their communities. Other panelists included: Tatum de Roeck (Founder, Hiking Hunnies), Donna Feinstein (Founder, West Hollywood Saturdays in the Park) and Megan Hobza (Founder, Whittier Time Bank). Chenese Lewis was moderator for the panel, and is herself a leader in the community as President of the Hollywood Chapter of the National Organization for Women.

It was such a pleasure meeting everyone on the panel, and exciting to talk about STRIDES with a group of motivated and empowered women! Ashley and I were both inspired by the women on the panel, as well as conference attendees we met before and after the panel. We can't wait to get out there and expand the STRIDES program and share the STRIDES message that suicide is preventable!

West Hollywood Women's Leadership Conference

Not long after the fall season of STRIDES, Anne and I got an invitation to be panelists at the West Hollywood Women's Leadership Conference, which is being held this weekend - April 9-10. We feel honored to be a part of this exciting event and will be presenting on a panel titled "Get your passion off the ground: Creating your own community event, project, or campaign." Other panels include learning to be an effective advocate, PR and marketing strategies, and changing careers, among others.

We're not only eager to share lessons learned throughout the development and implementation of STRIDES with dynamic women in our community, but also to learn from others with established programs as we move STRIDES forward next year.

You can register for or learn more about the conference here: West Hollywood Women's Leadership Conference. We'll have updates on what we learned and what we shared with other participants next week.

Spring Season Is Underway!

I stopped by Olympic Continuation High School (OHS) today and received some wonderful feedback about the STRIDES program from Marcia Gecht, the amazing health teacher who has opened up her classroom to STRIDES. She shared that one of our fall 2010 participants was like a "new student" after participating in the STRIDES program. Ms. Gecht explained that the student is more confident and attends classes nearly every day now.

Her feedback means a lot to us. I was at the school collecting questionnaire data so we can track the effectiveness of our program. However, these questionnaires don't always tell us much of a story. What really matters is the stories like the one shared by Ms. Gecht, that demonstrate the need for a program like STRIDES and the impact a program like this one can have on students.

Fall 2010 participants have been invited to participate in the spring season, and several are excited to join us. We are hoping they will take on a leadership role and lead stretching and running activities while motivating other STRIDES participants to reach their goals.

STRIDES Spring Season officially begins on Monday, March 28! We are so excited to help OHS students train for a 5k while sharing and practicing strategies for building self-esteem and setting and achieving goals. We could still use your help. If you or anyone you know has women's size 6 running shoes, we actually need a couple pairs! We will know soon what other sizes we'll need. Email us at STRIDESLA@gmail.com for an address to send shoes. Thank you for your continued support!

Gearing up for spring semester!

We're excited to announce that we're gearing up to implement STRIDES again at Olympic High School during spring semester! Additionally, we're currently looking for UCLA graduate students to continue this program next year. We'll be holding an info session about the application process for these positions on Wednesday, February 9 at 5pm in the Center for Health Sciences at UCLA (exact location TBD).


Although it's likely that both of us will be leaving Los Angeles this summer, we want to be sure that STRIDES can be sustained by other UCLA students when we're gone. Once we've established the process of training STRIDES coaches, our goal is to bring this positive youth development program to other U.S. cities. Using the knowledge and passion of public health students, we can foster a movement that strives to increase community awareness that suicide is preventable.

All photos from the fall 2010 STRIDES Community 5k Run/Walk.