#believetheHYPE is a positive norming campaign, which explores misperceptions of norms (or expectations for how people in our community behave), while also encouraging higher social standards.

July 1st, 2020 marked day one of Hancock Youth for Positive Efforts'  90-day push to spread the word on how we inspire positive change and healthy norms for youth in Hancock County. We shared statistics, resources, events, conversations, and a few surprises along the way. Explore this page and follow our social media updates to discover why you should #believetheHYPE!

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Four pillars provide a foundation for HYPE members to learn and grow upon as leaders: communication, commitment, passion, and courage. All of these attributes are key to developing well-rounded individuals who possess strong character and serve as positive ambassadors for the Hancock County community.
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Activities focused on communication, commitment, passion, and courage – four of HYPE’s pillars-to empower the kids with skills needed to successfully navigate life as a middle school student. We talked about what it means to be part of the Hancock County community, and how powerful an impact these students have on setting strong examples for their peers and affecting positive change. We had such an amazing day, and can’t wait for next year! □ #believethehype
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HYPE Leadership Day was created to help rising 6th, 7th, and 8th graders own the leader within themselves. The event was held at St. Clare Catholic Church on July 8th, 2020 ⭐️ #believethehype
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This week's SOI focus is PARENTS. The Core Measure Survey showed that 85% of high school students responding to the survey said their parents do NOT allow them to have alcohol, with another 4% admitting their parents do not knowingly provide it - 89% of local parents are doing their part in prevention! #believethehype
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Spheres of Influence (SOI) Series: PEERS. We're sharing more results from the 2020 HYPE Recruitment Day paper survey: once again, the reality is more positive than the perception! Another question on the five question paper survey offered to the 2020 HYPE Recruitment Day participants asked, "Where do you think kids get alcohol?" as an open-ended statement. We were curious to see how they viewed accessibility to alcohol, and whom they believe provides it, compared to what we found out from the Core Measure Survey in January. As it turns out, their peers have less access and avenues to alcohol than they thought! #believethehype!
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This week's SOI focus is PEERS. We asked students at the 2020 HYPE Recruitment Day to complete a five question paper survey, with one of the questions stating "How often do you think high school kids drink?" The options offered were 'every day', 'every week', 'every month', and 'never'. Recruitment Day participants are high schoolers, and we wanted to gauge what they believe their peers are doing vs. what their classmates indicated on the Core Measure Survey from January. This example, although a small sample size, proved a point - far fewer high schoolers in Hancock County are drinking as often, or at ALL, as their peers thought. #believethehype!
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We had so much fun yesterday at the virtual HYPE Kickoff Meeting! We loved catching up with the HYPE members that joined in, and missed the ones who weren't able to make it! Get ready to see these smiles around Hancock County soon, we have some pretty cool projects coming up! □ #believetheHYPE
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□□ Special Delivery!! The amazing creations from HYPE Hangout 1 were delivered to Hancock Middle School, Hancock High School, Bay Waveland Middle School, Holy Trinity Catholic School, Our Lady Academy, and Saint Stanislaus High School this morning. These cans each have a unique design promoting positive and healthy life choices for middle and high school students in Hancock County. An extra thank you to Ernest Taylor, Community Liason with the Hancock County Sheriff's Office, for assisting with delivery and always supporting HYPE’s mission! We are so proud of the HYPE members’ hard work, and excited for their peers to see these around campus! #believethehype □□
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We were so impressed with the 2020 Core Measure Survey results, indicating that 7 out of 10 high school students in Hancock County did not drink alcohol in the previous 30 days, that we put it on a billboard in Waveland! Have you seen it yet? #believetheHYPE!
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Dr. Barnes spoke at Recruitment Day 2020 about ways to get involved, the many paths toward success available right here in Hancock County, and how to stand out from the crowd. #believethehype
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In January we surveyed 1600+ students from Bay High School, Our Lady Academy, St. Stanislaus College, and Hancock High School on substance use. Over 70% of high schoolers indicated that they had not drank alcohol in the previous 30 days! Join the crowd and #believetheHYPE
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Three main spheres of influence affect how high school students view underage drinking: what they hear at home, learn from peers, and experience themselves. The Spheres of Influence (SOI) Series explores each of these circles of thought, with data from the 2020 Core Measure Survey and the HYPE events held last month for Hancock County middle and high schoolers! #believethehype
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82.68% of students - over 1,200! - indicated that their parents don't approve of them drinking, finding it either a little wrong, wrong, or very wrong. Once more, the students showed they're hearing similar perspectives from their parents across the board: to stay safe and sober while underage! #believethehype
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The #1 thing we hear is "There's nothing to do." HYPE presents: Hancock County Hangouts! These locations and activities were ideas from participants at HYPE Leadership Day 2020 and HYPE Recruitment Day 2020, who gave us their favorite things to do here in Hancock County. As it turns out, there's a LOT of options! #believetheHYPE
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The first annual HYPE Recruitment Day was held on July 21st, 2020, at St. Clare Catholic Church. Rising 9th and 10th graders from all four high schools in Hancock County were in attendance. Students were guided through activities that focused on how to serve their communities as positive, committed, and active leaders. They participated in team building and character projects, in addition to enjoying a seminar by Dr. Raymunda Barnes, Assistant Vice President of Pearl River Community College □ It was an awesome experience, we had the best time with this group and look forward to next year’s event! □□ #believethehype
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A key element of a positive norming campaign is exploring misconceptions of norms (expectations for how people in our community behave). This is a perfect example of how perceptions do not always match reality - in a positive way! We asked students at the 2020 HYPE Leadership Day to complete a five question paper survey, with one of the questions stating "How often do you think high school kids drink?" The options offered were 'every day', 'every week', 'every month', and 'never'. Leadership Day participants are middle schoolers, and we wanted to gauge what they believe high schoolers are doing vs. what the high schoolers themselves indicated on the Core Measure Survey from January. It helps shed light on how we can work to prevent underage drinking, and this exercise yielded positive results - far fewer high schoolers in Hancock County are drinking as often, or at ALL, as the Leadership Day students thought. #believethehype!
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Continuing results from the 2020 HYPE Leadership Day paper survey: once again, perceptions did not match reality - in a positive way! Another survey question posed was "Where do you think kids get alcohol?" The answer was open ended, but all responses fell into similar categories as offered during the Core Measure Survey that Hancock County high schoolers took in January of this year. Every single middle school perception was higher than the reality indicated by high school students - not only did Monday's graph show that fewer high school students are drinking, this result demonstrates that access is not nearly as prevalent as Leadership Day participants thought. #believethehype!
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We tend to focus on what middle & high school students in Hancock County think their parents and peers feel about underage drinking. This SOI focus is on SELF - what the students personally believe! During HYPE Leadership Day (for rising 6th, 7th, and 8th graders) and HYPE Recruitment Day (for rising 9th and 10th graders) all participants said that they do not drink, nor do they agree with their friends drinking underage. This wasn't surprising, given that the total number of participants in both events (34) were certain their friends and families didn't approve of kids drinking. It starts at home, is impacted by peers, and evolves as the kids' experiences do - we were thrilled to find out these Hancock County youth #believethehype!
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We are so excited for the latest HYPE billboard! It highlights more from the 2020 Core Measure Survey results, where 8 out of 10 high school students in Hancock County indicated that they believe there is significant risk and even harm in drinking alcohol underage. Have you seen it yet? It's at the red light by Waveland Walmart! #believetheHYPE
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We had an AMAZING time at the first HYPE Hangout of 2020!! 15 of our HYPE members volunteered to spend a Saturday decorating trash cans with positive messages and encouragement to lead a healthy, drug and alcohol free lifestyle as middle and high schoolers □□ We loved watching them bring their creative talents to life, and are so proud of these designs. A HUGE thank you to the Bay St. Louis Creative Arts Center for providing a perfect location, and our hosts were incredibly welcoming! □ #believethehype □□