Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has announced a new partnership between the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and the Newtown-based nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise to train students, educators and school administrators on identifying and handling potentially violent behaviors through the latter”™s Start With Hello, Say Something, and SOS Signs of Suicide programs.
The state will finance the partnership through a $500,000 federal grant made through the STOP School Violence Act. More than 116,000 Connecticut students will receive training in the initiative.
“Today”™s announcement is a crucial step in Connecticut”™s efforts to prevent school violence,” said Malloy. “We have made real progress since the tragedy at Sandy Hook ”“ from passing some of the toughest gun safety laws in the country, to allocating more than $50 million toward improving school security ”“ and Connecticut students are safer for those efforts. Sandy Hook Promise has been an invaluable ally in those endeavors, and this new partnership will train students to help prevent further tragedies.”
“We know we can prevent violence through proven programs like our Know the Signs programs, and I am proud that we are able to train and protect more students across Connecticut,” said Mark Barden, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise and the father of Daniel, who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
