Hope Institute helps East Valley students dealing with mental health issues

GILBERT, Ariz. — More than one year into its opening, a first-of-its-kind suicide treatment center in an East Valley school district said it’s making a positive impact. The Hope Institute has served hundreds of Valley students of a wide range of ages and wants to expand across Arizona, in the future.

The Hope Institute is located on Perry High School’s campus. There have been about 350 referrals to the institute since it opened in 2023, according to the center’s director. About 200 of them have been from within the Chandler Unified School District. 

Lindsay Taylor, the Hope Institute director, said they have a high 90% program completion rate. And there’s a significant reduction in returning clients. Taylor pointed to focusing on treatment and getting to the bottom of suicidal thoughts so they’re eliminated and not recurring.

Still, families and students are always welcomed to return for treatment if needed. Students from kindergarten to high school seniors can be referred to the program, with the youngest student so far being 7 years old. 

High school senior Alivea Teme, is part of Chandler’s committee for mental health and advisory board and said she’s seen the Hope Institute’s success in Chandler schools.

“I do feel like it makes me a little bit it makes me more secure to know that there are resources and people out there that will be able to provide the help that other people need, and that people know that they’re not alone,” Teme said. “So I do feel like this is a very influential place.”

The Hope Institute focuses on treating suicidality and then refers students to ongoing therapy for other issues like anxiety and depression. The institute provides treatment beyond hospital stabilization, focusing on eliminating suicidal thoughts. 

“So we’re trying to get to what is leading to the thoughts of suicide, and then we base our whole treatment plan around that,” Taylor said. “And I would say the most common three things that we see is feeling like they don’t belong, or feeling alone, feeling that lack of worth, self worth, unworthiness and psychological pain.”

Taylor said there are four licensed clinicians and no wait lists. Students can receive next day services, which is crucial, because of a shortage of therapists. It can be very hard for clients to get appointments right away, with long wait times. The clinicians’ suicide-specific treatment training reduces thoughts of suicide within an average of about five weeks, according to CUSD. 

Once the suicidality part of the treatment is finished, students can be referred to ongoing counseling. Chandler High sophomore Jay Garza is part of a student advisory committee for mental health and said she’s seen the benefits of the Hope Institute in the Valley.

“I think it’s very important, especially in this district, because I’ve seen a lot of people come and go, just super unhappy, very stressed out,” Garza said. “And I don’t think Chandler would be as safe as it is without the Hope Institute.”

While the Hope Institute is within the Chandler School District, it is open to the community. Adults can access services and there are telehealth appointments available too. Taylor said there are goals to expand to other school districts. 

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