LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A new organization at Lexington's Henry Clay High School is working to promote positivity, love and support.
In a student body as big as the one at Henry Clay, it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle.
"We have such a large school... I mean we have 2,100 students," said teacher and Sources of Strength adviser Misty Back.
"Just the day-to-day life students have and going through adolescence, all the school work, the pressures of going to college ...it's just a lot," added sophomore Genesis Pena-Lozada.
With the help of their school's new organization, Sources of Strength, they are looking to make it a little harder.
"We want everyone to feel like they are apart of something, or they have someone they can go to if they have a problem," Back said.
Made up of about 50 peer leaders of all grades, this group of students is promoting positivity and wellness in order to combat things like bullying, social alienation and even stress at their school.
"We're trying to seek out those people who are in need and need help, and we're trying to show them that they have positive reinforcement... that they have people that care," said senior Wes Payne.
When LEX18 visited their meeting on Thursday morning, the group was working on creating messages of encouragement to spread around the school.
"We just like to spread positivity," said Pena-Lozada.
In the past they have provided support during finals and been a resource for those who may be struggling to find daily inspiration.
"Our focus is to let them know that even if you're not thriving in one area, there are other areas where you can find strength and know it's going to be okay," adviser Back said.
The students involved hope their mission is contagious. They are working to be those tangible sources of strength for their peers, so should someone be in crisis, they have a place they know they can go.
"I think if we can accomplish that we'll have done a lot of good," Wes Payne said.
To learn more about Henry Clay's chapter of Sources of Strength visit them on Instagram at @hcssos To learn more about the national organization, click here.
