In March 2024, Safe2Tell received 2,562 reports, marking a 21% decrease from the previous month of February. This decline is typical during spring break; however, challenges such as bullying and suicidal ideations among students persist.
Attorney General Phil Weiser commented on the situation: “It has never been harder to be a young person than it is today. But I’ve seen some real glimmers of hope in the fight for youth mental health recently.” He praised the efforts of Safe2Tell student ambassadors and recognized Stargate Charter School as the first Safe2Tell Gold Star school for their community collaboration efforts.
During this period, the report volume for the 2023-2024 school year reached 20,611, reflecting an over 30% increase compared to the previous year. The most reported issues were school complaints (300), bullying (284), and suicide (266).
“This is the third month in a row that school complaints have been the top category, which follows a trend we are seeing nationally as well,” said Stacey Jenkins, Director of Safe2Tell.
The organization noted that false reports accounted for 3.7% of all submissions this school year. These are defined as reports with untrue information intended to harm others.
Anonymous reporting through Safe2Tell has successfully contributed to student safety:
- A report about a peer being bullied led to intervention by school teams who took disciplinary action and informed parents.
- Another report involved a peer self-harming with suicidal ideations. Local teams conducted a welfare check resulting in hospital transport after confirming the situation with both student and parents.
Safe2Tell functions as an anonymous reporting system for threats to safety but does not serve as an emergency response or mental health counseling provider. Reports can be made via phone at 1-877-542-7233, online at Safe2Tell.org, by texting S2TCO to 738477, or through its mobile app available on Apple App Store or Google Play.