A commonly spoken exhortation is made manifest every year in Riverton.

Held annually on the Saturday following Riverton High School’s HOPE (Hold on. Persuade. Empower) Week, this year’s walk will take place at 9 a.m. on Feb. 28 starting at Riverton High School and ending at Spirit Corner at the intersection of Redwood Road and 12600 South. 

Those who walk often carry signs of encouragement. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Dozens participated in Riverton High School’s Hope Walk last year where students, faculty and members of the community joined to walk from the high school, east along 12600 South and ending at the Riverton Spirit Corner (on the corner of Redwood Road). The Hope Walk is the culmination of Hope Week at Riverton, spearheaded by the school’s Hope Squad, a team of students and faculty who have been trained in recognizing signs of suicide in individuals and how to respond. The walk aims to bring awareness to suicide prevention and mental health.

“I feel like everyone has been affected or can relate someway to suicide prevention,” Dylan Elliott told the Riverton Journal in 2022. Elliott was that year’s Hope Squad president. “So, I thought this program was so cool because it not only focuses on the deep stuff, but also the happy stuff, the idea of hope. And we want to give hope to my peers.”

Riverton High partners with the city for the walk, usually featuring fire trucks and police vehicles accompanying the participants along the road. Last year doves were released on the steps of the high school before the walk began. 

The walk ends at the intersection of Redwood Road and 12600 South, as seen here in 2022. This year the walk starts at 9 a.m. on Feb. 28. (File photo courtesy Riverton City)