Students at Seymour Middle School Avert Potential Violence Following Sandy Hook Promise’s Say Something Week Training
Newtown, CT – March 21, 2019 – Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) praises the brave students of Seymour Middle School in Seymour, CT who helped avert potential violence in their school by standing up to “say something” when they saw disconcerting information and behaviors coming from one of their peers.
Just weeks after participating in SHP’s annual Say Something Week, students implemented what they learned during the training and notified a trusted adult with their observations. Say Something Week is an annual call-to-action week that reinforces the power young people have in preventing tragedies when they “say something” to a trusted adult to protect a friend from hurting themselves or others.
“I am proud of the swift action that these brave students took when they noticed something was awry with their classmate. It is crucial that we teach young people how to be ‘upstanders’ in their schools and communities, as they often see and hear things that adults miss,” said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting.
“We also praise Richard Kerns, the director of security for Seymour Public Schools, Superintendent Michael Wilson, and Dr. Edward Hendricks, a Seymour Public Schools board member, for rolling out Say Something to Seymour students. The training has proven to be an invaluable tool to ensuring that schools remain safe.”
In addition to the Say Something program, Seymour Public Schools is also a STOP School Violence Act grant partner. The STOP Act is a federal grant program that provides school districts with the funds to implement preventative safety measures to stop violence before it happens.
More than 6.5 million people have been trained in Sandy Hook Promise’s proven Know the Signs programs that focus on prevention to help end the epidemic of gun violence by training youth and adults how to identify at-risk behavior and intervene to get help before a tragedy can occur. Through these no-cost signature programs, Sandy Hook Promise has averted multiple school shooting plots, several teen suicides, and countless other acts of violence.
About Sandy Hook Promise: Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) is a national nonprofit organization based in Newtown, Connecticut. SHP is led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. SHP’s mission is to prevent gun violence and other forms of violence and victimization BEFORE they can happen by creating a culture of engaged youth and adults committed to identifying, intervening, and getting help for individuals who might be at risk of hurting themselves or others. SHP is a moderate, above-the-politics organization that supports sensible programs and policy solutions that address the “human side” of gun violence by preventing individuals from ever getting to the point of picking up a firearm to hurt themselves or others. Our words, actions, and impact nationwide are intended to honor all victims of gun violence by turning our tragedy into a moment of transformation. For more information, visit www.sandyhookpromise.org or call 203-304-9780.
