She -- and other young people grappling with similar difficult problems -- sometimes feel so helpless, they resort to cutting their wrists.

"If you have a sexual problem, you can't really go to your algebra teacher or your mom," said Buena Regional High School senior Leah Gildea, 18.

At Buena Regional High School, they don't have to. They can turn to peers like Gildea and other members of the Natural Helpers, a group of students nominated and trained to counsel their classmates in times of need.

Natural Helpers, in existence for six years, lets students nominate their most trusted peers.

Students nominated at least five times are eligible for the program.

They take part in a three-day orientation each November, run by Buena Regional, at the Pius X Retreat House in Blackwood. The current group returned Tuesday.

The Municipal Alliance -- which comprises Buena, Buena Vista and Weymouth -- covers the retreat's $3,500 cost.

While there, students learn how to support those who need help.

"You shouldn't give advice because it may not be the best," said Dan Gossin, 14. "Instead, give alternatives."

Gossin and 24 other Natural Helpers learned the group's six key rules: show concern, identify the problem, give alternatives, state the consequences, show support and, finally, ask their advisees what they plan to do.

They learn those rules by playing games, such as closing their eyes and making animal sounds to find their partners. They also go on trust walks, where they are blindfolded and led by teammates.

They learn the symbol for love in sign language and use it to get group members' attention.

They also take part in a session called "Sharing Scrolls," which encourages kids to share a personal item and explain what it means to them.

Social worker Kathleen Bress presented the group with a letter her grandmother gave her before she got married.

"She recently died," Bress said. "I was emotional, as were the kids."

Most students stick with the group through their senior year because they say it helps them bond. They also learn how important it is to lean on others in the group to resolve their own problems before they try to resolve problems of others.

The learning process starts with the retreat and continues through monthly seminars.

Some students didn't know each other at the start of the weekend. But that soon changed.

"It was the best experience I've had," said freshman Ian Maddox, 14. "We started out as strangers not talking to each other or doing anything together. By the bus ride home, we were singing to the radio."