Montgomery students describe new Hope Squad peer-support program at township meeting

Corey Delgado, director of counseling and student wellness for Montgomery Township School District, told the township committee the district launched a school-based Hope Squad program in January to train students to spot peers who may be struggling and connect them with resources.

The program, Delgado said, uses a peer-nomination process to select roughly 30 students across the high school and middle schools. "They went through some gatekeeper training," Delgado said, and the students are taught to "lend a supportive ear and then direct them to the resources that they can use to get help." Delgado emphasized the students are not expected to act as counselors: "They're more expected to just come and report it." (Corey Delgado)

Two student members, Maya Bailey, a sophomore, and Dakota Nan, a freshman at Montgomery High School, described how being part of Hope Squad has changed how they support classmates. "It felt amazing. It really made me feel like I was someone people could look to when they needed help," Maya said, adding that the program helped her learn to ask for help when balancing academics and extracurriculars. Dakota said the group both responds to students in crisis and runs proactive outreach, including an Instagram account that reached about 530 followers in its first month.

The students walked the committee through Hope Week activities — spirit days, tabling events and interactive stations that included trivia, movement stations and affirmation mirrors — as ways to make help-seeking visible and normalize peer support. "Even if you're not struggling right now, we are always there for you," a student representative said.

Committee members praised the program and encouraged expansion of outreach. Deputy Mayor Barragan asked what additional support students would need; the students suggested more outreach and more schoolwide events to bridge friend-group silos. Mayor Singh noted the program's potential to strengthen community ties beyond the schools and thanked the students for their leadership.

The committee also announced a $10,000 contribution from the mayor's wellness campaign to support Hope Squad activities. The group posed for a commemorative photo to share with the New Jersey League of Municipalities and staff said they will coordinate promotion of the program and the township's "healthy town" designation.

The committee did not take formal action beyond the recognition and the donation; staff said they will continue to work with the schools to identify outreach needs and opportunities to involve the broader community.