Safe Path to School Program

About the Program

Currently, the Safe Path to School Program aims to increase community safety by providing a positive, trusted adult presence for students as they travel to and from school and connecting this network of adults with existing violence intervention efforts.

Working collaboratively with the Philadelphia School District, the Penn Injury Science Center will build upon these efforts by…

Increasing participation from local community organizations

Training participants in trauma-informed care and evidence-based violence prevention

Improving access to referral programs

Organizing meetings with local violence intervention programs

What is Safe Path?

Each school in the Philadelphia School District has Safe Path volunteers to help children get to and from school safely. Similar to a neighborhood watch program, volunteers patrol routes around schools at the start and end of the school day or keep watch from their homes or businesses. Volunteers often work in teams, sharing information and reporting any suspicious or unusual activities. You can learn more and volunteer by visiting the School District’s website.

This work at the Penn Injury Science Center is led by Dr. Bernadette Hohl and funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. 

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