Georgia schools are entering a new chapter in student-led prevention. With the passage of HB 268, schools across our state are being asked to designate student-led clubs to sustain awareness activities related to suicide prevention and violence prevention. At Be THE Voice, this is exactly the kind of work we have been building for more than a decade.

Our platform is built on what we call The Student Leadership Effect — the measurable change that occurs when schools intentionally empower students to become the voice of positive change. Because students do not simply experience school culture. They help create it.

This year, through our partnership with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, BTV incorporated 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline awareness into our middle and high school programs through:

• A teen-narrated video message
• Co-branded 988 awareness bracelets
• 988 posters for participating schools
• Student-led conversations around support, connection, and knowing where to turn in a crisis

BTV also continues to support violence prevention by helping schools strengthen peer connection, belonging, kindness, courage, and compassion — the protective factors that help create safer, healthier school communities.

And the results matter.

In Fulton County Schools, Georgia’s fourth-largest school district, BTV schools saw reported bullying incidents decrease by 95% at the elementary level, 77% at the middle school level, and 91% at the high school level compared to non-participating schools from 2021–2023.

We are not an “anti-bullying” program. We are: 

• Pro-student leadership.
• Pro-kindness.
• Pro-courage.
• Pro-connection.
• Pro-positive peer influence.

When students are trusted to lead, they become one of the most powerful forces for changing school culture from within.

As Georgia schools work to meet the moment, you and your club can work with Be THE Voice to help students lead the way. For more information about the program, read on. If you're ready to learn more about how you and your club can help, contact Founder and CEO Debbie Cwalina (a Roswell Rotarian) by email at debbie@be-the-voice.org, or visit our website.