Sometimes, the First Person They Tell Is a Friend
GENERAL SANTOS CITY - When a young person is struggling, the first conversation may happen somewhere far from a guidance office—during a break, inside a classroom, or while talking with a trusted friend. DepEd General Santos City Mental Health Focal Person Joannie Avbegail V. Apud, known as Nurse Avby, highlighted this reality in discussing the importance of peer facilitators. The LAKAS program responds by helping students understand how to listen and offer appropriate support without taking the place of trained professionals. Its approach recognizes something familiar in school life: classmates often notice when something is wrong before anyone else does, making informed peer support a useful part of a caring school environment.
Turning Good Intentions Into Useful Skills
Being a good friend is important, but knowing what to do when someone shares a difficult experience can make that support more thoughtful. Through LAKAS, student peer facilitators are introduced to Psychological First Aid, psychosocial support, and mental-health advocacy, giving them practical concepts they can use when communicating with fellow learners. The program also uses experiential and arts-based activities in partnership with the Kalimudan Cultural and Arts Center, bringing a creative dimension to the learning process. Rather than asking students to become counselors themselves, the training gives them a clearer understanding of listening, responding appropriately, and recognizing when a concern should be brought to guidance counselors or other school personnel.
A Helping Hand Still Has a Professional Team Behind It
The strongest message of the program is not that students should handle serious concerns on their own, but that they can become more prepared members of a wider support system. Peer facilitators can listen, show understanding, and help classmates connect with the people equipped to provide further assistance, while guidance counselors and school personnel remain part of that process. This approach also reflects the broader direction of student mental-health programs in 2026, with the Philippine Information Agency reporting that DepEd is strengthening peer-facilitator initiatives to encourage youth-to-youth support and early identification of concerns. In General Santos, LAKAS gives that idea a distinctly student-centered and creative form.
