Ohio ACOFP Joins Effort to Empower Youth to Save Lives

 National Say Something Week, October 19 -23, 2015

When it comes to acts of violence, including suicide and threats to others, most are communicated in some way before the incident occurs. In fact, in 4 out of 5 school shootings, the attacker told people of his/her plans ahead of time and 70 percent of people who die by suicide told someone of their intention or gave some type of warning or indication. Imagine how many of these tragedies could be averted if someone said something.

That’s the problem Sandy Hook Promise wants to solve. Their free program, Say Something, teaches students in grades 6-12 how to recognize warning signs, signals and threats, especially in social media, from friends or individuals who may want to hurt themselves or others and then to intervene and Say Something to a trusted adult to get help. The program is based on research conducted by Dr. Dewey Cornell and Dr. Reid Meloy, two leading national experts in threat assessment and intervention.

“Most of the time, warning signs of violence are communicated in advance, such as on social media, or can be observed in a person’s behavior. Unfortunately, not everyone knows what to do with that information,” said Mark Barden, managing director of Sandy Hook Promise and father of 7-year-old Daniel Barden who was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School. “Young people are the eyes and ears of their schools and community. We can teach them how to properly identify and report threats, keeping themselves, their friends and their family safe. They have the power to save lives.”

Ten statewide professional associations serving youth, schools and families have partnered with Sandy Hook Promise to ask schools and youth organizations across Ohio to take part in National Say Something Week. This includes the Ohio Parent Teacher Association (OPTA), the Ohio School Board Association (OSBA), the Ohio Association for Secondary School Administrators (OASSA), the Ohio Mental Health Network for School Success (OHMHNSS), the Coach Hall Foundation, Ohio Family and Children First (OFCF), the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (Ohio AAP), the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP), the Ohio State Society of American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (Ohio ACOFP), and the Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association (OPPA).

Find out more about Say Something Week at www.sandyhookpromise.org/saysomethingweek.