This Friday, MHS faculty and staff members will meet up to train for a volunteer program called Safe Zone Allies. The program is intended to offer support to students who want to talk to someone about an issue but don’t feel comfortable speaking with a counselor. A sticker will be placed at the entrance of the volunteers’ rooms to indicate to students which teachers are participating.

“We are not counselors, we’re just there to listen,” project leader Sara Rempel said. “If a student has a problem somewhere in their life they can see a sticker on the door or in the window of a room and know that that teacher is safe to go and talk to.”
Although initially created with LGBT students in mind, the program is non-exclusive and open for other students as well.

“A lot of times LGBT students need more information or support, but we’re not excluding anybody from this service,” Rempel said.