Colorado’s Safe2Tell program sees surge of suicide reports

Colorado’s program for parents, students, and teachers to share information has seen a substantial increase in reports related to youth suicides.

The Denver Post reports the Safe2Tell program received nearly 2,800 reports related to suicide threats during the 2017-18 school year, increasing from the more than 300 reports received in the 2011-12 school year.

Students can submit reports with Safe2Tell through phone calls, a mobile app or online. The program launched in 2004, created in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Columbine High School.

Officials say the students are increasingly turning to the Safe2Tell system to report friends and classmates who are at risk of harming themselves. Suicide-related reports have surpassed bullying as the leading reason students contact the program.