Wednesday, 05 April 2023 09:05 AM
Company Update
CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2023 / Due to the threat of a gun on school property, both Highland Park High School and Deerfield High School, located in the northern Chicago suburbs, were put on lockdown yesterday. The lockdown took place while students staged a walkout to protest gun violence in solidarity with students from the Nashville area, where a school shooting occurred on March 27th.
Persistent feelings of hopelessness in youth have been linked to various risky behaviors such as self-harm, addiction, and violence. In fact, hopelessness has been identified as the sole consistent predictor of violent behavior among adolescents. Furthermore, a history of violence is the only predictor of gun violence. We need to act now because based on the latest CDC report, hopelessness is at an all-time high with 40% of all youth experiencing persistent hopelessness.
How can you help?
On April 12th, at 5:00pm, there will be a conversation with "The SHINE Hope Company" at Madame Zuzu's in Highland Park. The main focus of the conversation will be addressing the critical issues of violence and hopelessness and suggesting action plans and solutions for teaching hope. The event is open to all community leaders, businesses, and schools; we encourage all to join together with The SHINE Hope company in taking action on this pressing issue. We are asking all businesses, schools, and community leaders to take part and take action.
Scott Mandell, the CEO of The Shine Hope Company, was personally impacted as his kids are students in the district. In light of recent events, Mandell has shared his thoughts and comments on the matter: "It's jarring hearing the news that your kids' school is on lockdown due to students bringing a gun. But what is really deflating is knowing that these situations are happening more and more, and all over the place. Our kids and their parents live in constant fear of potential school shootings. We are almost resigned to the fact as a society, and it is unacceptable. Companies, community leaders, politicians, philanthropists, and educators all need to take action on this critical issue, and get to the root cause, which is hopelessness."
Kathryn Goetzke, Chief Hope Officer, shares "Kids are living in persistent states of hopelessness, and it is learned. The latest CDC data is so alarming and predicts this is only going to get worse unless we take drastic action. The good news about all of this, as we have proven through our work, is that hope is teachable. If we want to prevent violence, we need to look at the root cause, which is not mental health disorders, it is learned hopelessness. We must teach our kids how to hope. It starts at home, in the workplace, in leadership, in places of worship, and must start now.'
In light of the recent shutdown in District 113 schools, the superintendent released the following statement, "... As a society, we should drop everything and figure out a solution to this problem. Until we as a country figure out how to remove this scourge that is upon all of us, we need to take care of each other-and ourselves." The time to act is now.
The SHINE Hope company asks for everyone to act now by joining the conversation on activating Hope at home and throughout the community. Take action against future school shootings, by addressing the root cause of hopelessness, on April 12th, at 5 pm at Madame Zuzu's in Highland Park.
About The Shine Hope Company™:
The Shine Hope Company is on a mission to teach everyone around the world the ‘how' to Hope, based on our Founder Kathryn Goetzke's research that Hope is a teachable skill. The company aims to do this through workplace consulting, Hopeful Mindsets™ courses, research, consumer products, and books, which were all curated by the best-in-class researchers in mental health and Hope science using the SHINE Hope™ framework. Hope is predictive of retention, performance, productivity, and engagement, and is a protective factor against anxiety and depression. Visit www.theshinehopecompany, or e-mail [email protected] for more.
For press inquiries, contact:
Jen Weigel
312.485.8545
[email protected]
SOURCE: The Shine Hope Company