Empowering youth to Break the silence and save lives
It Began With Heartbreak—and a Promise
In February 2016, two teenage girls lost their lives in a tragic, preventable shooting at an Arizona high school. In the days that followed, one painful truth emerged: the warning signs were there, but no one spoke up.
Standing at that scene, Gina Godbehere, then a Bureau Chief in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, made a promise that no family, school, or community should ever feel that same pain again.
“It wasn’t enough to ask why this happened. The real question was—what could we do to make sure it never happens again?”
About the Conference
Speak Up, Stand Up, Save a Life is a statewide movement empowering students to find their voice, teaching adults how to truly listen, and helping communities act before silence turns into tragedy. Because speaking up isn’t just brave, it can save a life.
Our mission is to empower youth to speak up by providing students and educators with the tools to recognize and positively respond to behavioral health cues in their peers.
to have a true impact it needs to involve every sector––schools to law enforcement, community resource partners and local leaders.
Gina Godbehere, Co-Founder / Read Full Article
We’re bent on Making a statewide impact
21+
Cities Participating
From Peoria to Gilbert, Phoenix to Glendale, Tucson to Flagstaff, Public and Private schools alike are banding together.
54+
Districts making a Difference
By caring enough to learn how to speak up and stand up in the face of bullying, depression and suicide.
420K
Students Impacted
Our research shows that the trickle effect spreads well beyond students, to families, teachers and friends.
Watch Our Special on NPR and PBS!
We’re all difference makers
We believe in doing things differently to break the pattern of youth suicide—with intention, with passion, and with people at the center of it all.
Thank You to Our Champion Sponsor Nova Via for proudly supporting Speak Up, Stand Up, Save a Life and our mission to Empower Youth to Speak Up.
Our generous Sponsors ensure students have the tools, language, and confidence to speak up for themselves and for one another.
Programs & Resources
With the right information, tools and recommended actions, we can teach our students (teachers and friends!) how to speak up, stand up and save a life. We have a list of resources that is constantly being updated to help with handling the things we talk about at our conference. Please utilize and share these resources—they exist to help!
Mental Health
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) says 20% of youth ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition, and approximately 50% of students age 14 and older with a mental illness drop out of high school.
Suicide Prevention
Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in youth ages 10 - 24, and results in approximately 4,600 lives lost each year. With the right tools, we can do something about it.
Bullying
This is all about prevention: teaching kids how to identify bullying and how to stand up to it safely. When adults respond quickly and consistently to bullying behavior, they send the message that it is not acceptable.
Substance Abuse
Odds of dying from accidental opioid overdose in the US surpass those of dying in car accident. In 2018, unintentional injury was found to be the leading cause of death in the US -- nearly twice as many as from cancer and heart disease combined.
GET INVOLVED
From sharing how you are speaking up on social media with our #CareEnough tag to attending the conference or becoming a valued sponsor, explore how you’d like to get involved in the Speak Up, Stand Up, Save a Life movement in Arizona and beyond.
Nominate a #Differencemaker
These are the people who have made an incredible impact on you and our community. Let’s recognize them!
Volunteer with us
There’s no way we would be able to do this without our amazing volunteers. If you can help, please join us!
Become a Sponsor
Where would we be without our amazing sponsors? We have multiple packages available, please take a look!