What is Sources of Strength?
Sources of Strength's (SOS's) mission is to provide the highest quality evidence-based prevention for suicide, violence, bullying, and substance abuse by training, supporting, and empowering both peer leaders (youth) and caring adults to impact their world through the power of connection, hope, help, and strength. SOS seeks to increase help seeking behaviors, promote connections between peers and caring adults, and ultimately prevent bullying and substance abuse.
SOS recognizes 8 strengths to turn to when students (and all of us) need support. These 8 strengths include:
- family support: immediate family or people considered close enough to be family
- positive friends: people who are always there for us in positive ways
- mentors: people with skills or traits that we aspire to learn or benefit from
- healthy activities: everything from sports to theater to reading
- generosity: giving back to others- both small and large gestures go a long way in helping both others and ourselves
- spirituality: can be religious or anything that lifts our spirits
- medical access: medical professionals from dentists to doctors help ensure our physical quality of life
- mental health: the ability to know when to be independently resilient and when to ask for help