NEWTOWN, Conn. – The City of Tempe, Arizona is demonstrating its commitment to community-wide violence prevention with the approval of a resolution recognizing the city’s participation in Sandy Hook Promise’s Know the Signs programs. These life-saving programs not only help prevent violent acts such as shootings, bullying, and self-harm in Tempe but also enable the city to create a culture of Upstanders, promote kindness, and build long-term connectedness.
The city has also declared January 25th as “Sandy Hook Promise Day” to raise awareness about the city’s mission to create a safer future for kids and their communities.
“Tempe’s resolve to create a community that keeps everyone safe is inspiring. These efforts are a fantastic example of how a city can come together to truly address the root causes of violence and create a culture where everyone looks out for one another. When youth and adults are trained to spot the warning signs, which often precede an attack or act of harm, lives will be saved. Tempe’s comprehensive approach as a city in this regard is well-deserving of recognition and celebration,” said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and co-CEO of Sandy Hook Promise.
“I’m proud to share that our city is the first one in Arizona to adopt a resolution to support Sandy Hook Promise, and one of the first in the country as well. This will affect all of our public schools. There has been a lot of tragedy over the years when it comes to school violence and school shootings, and there’s no such thing as being prepared for it. It’s always a reactive scenario. This is going to be a proactive scenario for us. For us as a city, I congratulate and thank my colleagues, all our city staff, and our police department for everything that’s being done to help out with the Sandy Hook Promise,” said Tempe Councilmember Berdetta Hodge during the resolution’s announcement.
Sandy Hook Promise is a national nonprofit that works to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities. The organization has a proven track record of saving lives through research-backed programming, with more than 700 young lives saved from suicide, more than 300 acts of violence with a weapon prevented, at least 16 credible planned school shooting attacks prevented, and more.
Tempe’s recent resolution (R2025.04) “commends Sandy Hook Promise and its Know the Signs programming for the work that it does to make the Tempe community safer, encouraging schools and communities to unite in action to prevent youth violence.”
The resolution also states that “prevention and intervention efforts are not only helping people, but also make a significant impact on the community, demonstrating an innovative way of working together that is truly making a difference.”
City of Tempe CARE 7 Youth Specialists will partner with Tempe Union High School District and Tempe Elementary School Districts to deliver Sandy Hook Promise programming at school sites in various settings during advisory periods, lunch breaks, and in after school clubs, and will also work to identify struggling students, offering participation in programming to gain social interaction.
View a video clip of the resolution announcement (at the 36-minute mark of the council meeting recording).
For more information about the warning signs of violence and proven violence prevention programs and policies, please visit sandyhookpromise.org.
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Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) envisions a future where all children are free from school shootings and other acts of violence. As a national nonprofit organization, SHP’s mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities. Creators of the life-saving, evidence-informed “Know the Signs” prevention programs, SHP teaches the warning signs of someone who may be in crisis, socially isolated, or at-risk of hurting themselves or others and how to get help. SHP also advances school safety, youth mental health, and responsible gun ownership at the state and federal levels through nonpartisan policy and partnerships. 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.
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