Hundreds gather to raise mental health awareness at Night of Hope in Wiggins

WIGGINS, Miss. (WXXV) — Hundreds of community members gathered at Blaylock Park in in Wiggins on Wednesday evening for Night of Hope.

Hope Squad members from schools across the Stone County School District hosted the event to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention.

Keynote speakers, including Wiggins mayor Darrell Berry, shared their own testimonies. Berry also proclaimed February 11th as Day of Hope in the city.

The crowd then lit up the night with glow sticks and flashlights as it walked around the track at Blaylock Park, signifying unity and support.

SCSD’s Hope Squad includes students from Stone High School, Stone Middle School, Stone Elementary School and Perkinston Elementary School. Student advisors within the program spoke to WXXV about what it means to join students of all ages in making a difference in their community.

“Mental health isn’t defined to one grade, and we just want to be supportive in every grade,” eighth-grader Kenzley Ladner said.

“You really get to see the entirety of feelings related to mental health, regardless of whether it’s from kindergarten to seniors in high school or people going into college, too,” SHS advisor Lindsey Reed added. “It’s just really a good community for all of us to have. I feel like I’ve made so many friends through Hope Squad so far, and it’s so nice to be able to talk about it and break the stigma starting with younger generations and up to the older generations.”

“It’s really just fun to connect with all of the people, even just the younger kids,” junior Abby Sigman explained. “It’s fun to go over there and just see how they feel about it and the whole situation. So it’s just a cool experience to be a part of, like, a big group.”

If you or someone you know are facing mental health challenges, contact the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988.