 TheTrust-supported Safe2Tell Hotline, which was developed in response to the Columbine Commission’s recommendations, gives students in all Colorado schools an increased ability to both prevent and report violence by making safe, anonymous calls to 1-877-542-SAFE. Among the responses to calls received in 2006, Hotline interventions directly resulted in the prevention of 29 suicides, recovery of 41 weapons and response to 52 substance abuse calls. School shootings and other violence have raised awarenessabout how important it is to prevent bullying before it escalates into a tragic event. Through our Bullying Prevention Initiative, many more schools and community-based organizations now have prevention programs in place to help the bullied, bullies and the vast majority of students – bystanders – put a stop to bullying. According to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, bullying is often a warning sign that youth are headed for trouble and are at risk for serious violence. Teens, especially boys, who bully are four times more likely than non-bullies to be convicted of crimes by age 24, with 60% of bullies having at least one criminal conviction.  Grantee Story: Bullying Prevention The KIDPOWER program is helping disabled students in Colorado Springs learn how to speak up and protect themselves from bullying. See story... We also provide assistance that gives young people positive, creative activities and guidance during the after-school hours. Our support of the Colorado AfterSchool Network – in partnership with the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and representatives of school associations, after-school programs and policymakers – helps the network to improve the quality and quantity of after-school programs. Data from the Afterschool Alliance show that the gap between parents’ work schedules and children’s school schedules leaves an estimated 14 million children – including 40,000 kindergarteners – on their own during the after-school hours when youth engage in such risky behaviors as sexual activity, drug and alcohol use, and juvenile crime. As a follow-up to the 2006 White House Conference onSchool Safety, The Trust convened law enforcement, elected officials and education leaders to discuss how to significantly improve school safety across the state. This group formed the Safe School Partnership and continues to explore policy options and other possibilities for making schools safer. With The Colorado Health Foundation, The Trust co-sponsored a School Health Summit and commissioned a study of school-based health. The study found that in the 2005-06 school year, school-based health centers served 12% of Colorado’s students, 60% of which were from low-income families.  Also in 2006, The Colorado Trust partnered with the Caring for Colorado Foundation, The Colorado Health Foundation and Rose Community Foundation to commission a study on the status of children’s access to quality health care. Among the findings, the study notes that there are about 114,000 uninsured children in metro-Denver and 180,000 statewide – one out of six kids. |
1 - First Years of Life
2 - Safe, Healthy, Engaged Kids
3 - Quality Health Care
4 - Opportunities for All