for help call: 1.800.578.OSBA
SafeOregon tallies its efforts to disrupt threats to students
Thursday, July 19, 2018
SafeOregon recorded 1410 tips about possible student dangers over a one-year period, according to its first yearly report, posted Thursday.
SafeOregon, a statewide program started in January 2017, allows students, staff or the public to anonymously report potential threats for intervention before tragedy strikes. The program is free, but schools must sign up at safeoregon.com.
The report covering June 16, 2017, to June 15, 2018, shows 998 schools involved, serving more than 480,000 students. More than a third of the tips concerned bullying or harassment. About 14 percent of the tips were “urgent” or “critical,” which led to a call to the school and possible law enforcement involvement.
“Communities have already saved lives and gotten help for students in distress,” SafeOregon Program Analyst Dominique Millette said in an email. Millette works for the Oregon State Police, which manages the tip line.
Success stories include help for students considering self-harm, threat assessments at schools, interventions for students being abused or threatened, and prevention of drug and alcohol use.
SafeOregon is available around the clock and can be reached by phone or text (844-472-3367), email (tip@safeoregon.com), website (SafeOregon.com), or mobile app for Android and iOS phones. The website is by far the most popular means of communication, according to the report.
- Jake Arnold, OSBA
jarnold@OSBA.org
jarnold@OSBA.org