A new app created by Denver youth and University of Colorado Boulder scholars allows users to anonymously report safety and wellbeing concerns to community organizations trained to help, without immediately involving law enforcement.
The app, Power of One, was inspired by the 20-year-old Safe2Tell program that allows Colorado students and community members to report issues to local law enforcement anonymously. The new app offers an alternative for young people reluctant to talk to police.
“Some historically marginalized communities have been reluctant to use Safe2Tell due to a strong code of silence, stigma associated with ‘snitching,’ concerns about possible retaliation and cynicism toward police,” said Beverly Kingston, director of CU Boulder’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence. “We need ways to reach them, too.”
Power of One was made with input from Denver-area young people in a program called Game Changers, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and overseen by CU Boulder scholars to confront the youth violence crisis the CDC deemed a “serious public health problem.”
Keshon Nunn, a 19-year-old Game Changer who helped with the app’s conception, believes the Power of One could be the future of youth violence prevention.
When people anonymously report a concern to Power of One, the app routes submissions to paid peer navigators, including social worker students and specially-trained community members in their 20s.
“This was created for youth, by youth, specifically,” Nunn said. “That resonates with people.”
The navigators assess the submissions, which can include video, audio and social media screenshots, and then deploy the help of hyper-local community services.
If a submission is considered an imminent violent threat, that tip gets sent to 911 and dealt with by authorities.
But other cases could lead to a teen being referred to a food bank, counselor, tutor, mentor or housing navigator.
Some cases that could turn violent, like discussions of an upcoming fight online, could be referred to “violence interrupters” at the Denver nonprofit Struggle of Love Foundation. The peer navigators also have the ability to follow up with tipsters and provide ongoing support.
There is a 24/7 response center with folks staffed to respond around the clock.
Nunn grew up in the Green Valley Ranch area and said he watched youth violence intensify. There were likely times he could have used the Safe2Tell program but opted not to because of the stigma around involving law enforcement, he said.
“We are not enemies of Safe2Tell, but imagine how many more people can receive help without that stigma,” Nunn said.
Safe2Tell saw the highest report volume in the program’s history during the 2022-23 school year, with a 16% increase, from 19,364 reports to 22,486 reports, according to the organization’s most recent annual report.
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Although the pilot program is focusing on serving northeast Denver because that’s where the CDC funding for youth violence prevention is targeted, Kingston said they won’t turn users away from other parts of the city.
In fact, Kingston hopes the localized model can grow into a nationwide example for addressing youth struggles.
“It has a real potential to prevent and interrupt violence but also work upstream at some of the things that are more root causes of violence so that violence doesn’t even come on the radar in the first place,” Kingston said.
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