Kirsten Serrone, Senior
“PARKLAND, Fla. — A former student went on a shooting rampage at a Florida high school Wednesday, leaving 17 dead while panicked students barricaded themselves inside classrooms and frantic parents raced to the scene. Some of those mothers and fathers were still waiting into the night for word whether their child survived the massacre” (Hayes and Bohatch).
Violent events like this are such a prevalent topic and concern no matter where one is, but it seems schools suffer the most. There are constant news stories of shootings and young innocent people getting hurt. Many are left with questions, such as, “How can I help? Could I have done more? Were there signs?” Now, there is easy access to not only anonymously report any genuine concerns someone has about others and their environment, but also educate students, teachers, and administrators about possible warning signs. Safe to Say covers anything from mental health, abuse, self harm, or harming others that can all be reported through the app, online, or their crisis line.
Safe to Say Something is run by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. The program helps educate youth and adults to recognize possible warning signs of a violent occurrence or threat, especially through social media. It allows anonymous reporting of such possible events or concern for them.
The Safe to Say site reports that 1,000,000 students have reported being harassed, bullied, or threatened. 80 percent of school shooters told someone of their plans, and 59 percent told more than one person. 70 percent of people who commit suicide have told someone of their plans. The Safe to Say program can help prevent this terrible events from taking place.
The main audience of this program is schools, as the program created a video shared throughout many schools and districts in Pennsylvania that presents the program’s abilities and teaches about possible warning signs of threats to oneself or others.
At any moment, someone could make an anonymous submission to Safe to Say about a concern they have and the crisis center will review, assess, and process all submissions. They determine what steps are necessary and may report the situation to the school administration or law enforcement if necessary. If it is needed, the crisis center can, and may, contact the person who made a submission through the app; still anonymously. It is in high hopes that this program will help keep schools and communities safe and prevent more violent events from occurring.
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