SRO Connections Program

BlueBridge Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening relationships between peace officers and the communities they serve, is excited to announce the creation of its SRO Connections Program.

This program provides innovative solutions for School Resource Officers (SROs) to connect with at-risk students and others who may be confronting life challenges beyond those typical students face. SROs are uniquely positioned to encourage and stimulate a student’s active participation in school, sports, and hobbies, thus promoting better outcomes for kids who might otherwise fall through the cracks and turn to destructive behavior.

Several SROs already participate in BlueBridge through their local agency’s affiliation with the BlueBridge Alliance program. Building upon the excellent results achieved by those SROs, the SRO Connections Program is intended to be a supplementary program that provides an opportunity for SROs to leverage BlueBridge even if their own agency hasn’t yet joined the BlueBridge Alliance. And, while the availability of resources is important everywhere, it is particularly critical in communities where many residents are economically disadvantaged.

Based on preliminary 2023 data, we are pleased to report that currently participating SROs have earned an impressive 90% success rate in inspiring students to engage more positively in classes and other constructive activities, despite the hardships they may face outside the classroom.

Success stories pulled from SRO reporting:

“A student at [name of school redacted] had behavior issues at the beginning of school. I noticed the student had progressed with his behavior and was not getting into any more trouble. The student’s grades improved and he participated in sports after school. The student was on the fence about affiliating himself with gangs, which he appeared to have steered away from. As a relationship-building opportunity, I told him I would treat him to McDonald’s for his hard work and positive growth throughout the school year. The student was ecstatic and made conversation on the way to McDonald’s. He was thankful for the treat and for me reaching out to him.” — Officer Cooper

“I was connected with a juvenile who had been struggling at home with parents who are going through a separation. The female juvenile has prior suicidal attempts and on occasion, struggled with mental health. The juvenile’s school counselor and myself have teamed up to do check-ins with the juvenile to make sure she is coming to school and is on track. While working with juvenile, she told me she felt like her scars from cutting herself on her arms were haunting her. She shared she felt stupid for harming herself as she was now facing permanent scarring from it. After being released from juvenile detention, I took the juvenile to Fred Meyers to get lotion, scar cream, and a Starbucks coffee to build rapport and trust with the juvenile. She was very appreciative of the scar cream and lotion. We spoke about a routine with the cream and how it would help deter the scarring. This interaction boosted the juvenile’s morale as you could see on her face, she was more hopeful of pushing forward and moving on from her past decisions.” — Officer Jurgenson

“While at the school on routine patrol, I informed the staff to notify me if there were any children that were in need of assistance when it came to cold weather clothes. One of the teachers informed me of a family with a 5th grader who was very large for his age. The family was struggling with mom just having a baby and dad trying to get his CDL for full time employment. I had the teacher communicate with the mother about sizes and using my BlueBridge card I was able to get the child some snow boots, snow pants, and “long john” undergarments. I met with the student at the school and told him I wanted to give him some things for winter. He was very appreciative and gladly accepted the items. It was a great interaction that made me feel proud to be in a position to help out this family.” — Sergeant Garcia

BlueBridge aims to launch the SRO Connections Program in January 2024. However, to make the SRO Connections Program a success, WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We estimate that launching SRO Connections will require approximately $250,000; we’re not there yet. Please consider a donation, grant, or corporate sponsorship to help launch the program and provide kids with hope and healthy interactions with School Resource Officers.