June 11, 2024 (DENVER) – Safe2Tell experienced its third highest reporting month ever in May 2024, meaning that the top three highest months of reports all occurred during the spring 2024 semester. According to the monthly report released today, the program received 3,053 reports in May, with only February 2024 (3,224) and April 2024 (3,188) hitting higher monthly volumes in the program’s history.
Already surpassing the total 2022-2023 school year report volume (22,286) in April, the report also highlighted that Safe2Tell report volume for the 2023-2024 school year rose to 26,852 in May. The top categories of reports for the month were school complaints (378), bullying (308), and suicide (268).
“Even though categories like bullying and suicide are consistently part of our top complaints, categories like drugs, vaping, self-harm, and school threats are close behind. The data tells us how much our kids are hurting,” remarked Attorney General Phil Weiser. “I am hopeful we can catalyze action to help our children with our new youth mental health funding initiative.”
Last week, Weiser announced a $20 million initiative for school-community partnerships to promote holistic youth mental health and wellness statewide, citing the U.S. Surgeon General’s warning of a national epidemic of youth loneliness and need for connection.
“As we head into June, we want to remind all students that you are not alone, and Safe2Tell is available during the summer months. If you have an urgent safety concern, you can tell us anonymously any time,” explained Safe2Tell Director Stacey Jenkins.
False reports make up 3.9% of all reports submitted to the program this year. False reports are those that contain untrue information and are submitted with the intent to harm or bully another person.
Anonymous reports to Safe2Tell from students and other individuals successfully helped protect students’ safety this past month:
A person reported a student came to school with bruises because of a fight with their parent. Local law enforcement conducted a welfare check; upon further examination, the Department of Human Services was brought into the investigation.
A person reported their peer posted a concerning image on social media that referenced self-harming. School teams investigated, spoke with the student and their parent; as a result, the student is undergoing a suicide assessment.
Safe2Tell is a violence intervention and prevention program for students to anonymously report threats to their own or others’ safety. It is not an emergency response unit nor mental health counseling service provider; it serves as an information pathway for distributing anonymous reports to local law enforcement and school officials required by state law.
To make a report, individuals can call 1-877-542-7233 from anywhere at any time. Reports also can be made at Safe2Tell.org by texting S2TCO to 738477 or through the Safe2Tell mobile app available on Apple App Store or Google Play.
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