Peer education isn’t the future—it’s happening now.

 A Powerful Two Days of Prevention Education

Walking into Brooklyn Tech High School, the sheer size of it was enough to make anyone pause. With nearly 6,000 students, it’s one of the largest high schools in New York City, a place where young people are constantly moving, learning, and figuring out who they are. For two days—February 24th and 25th—SafeBAE took the stage to bring something different to their campus.

From the first bell to the last, our New York programming team delivered presentations on consent, healthy relationships, and dating violence prevention. Period after period, we stood in front of students, breaking down myths, answering tough questions, and giving them knowledge that could literally change lives.

Aela, Finley and Raveena led the charge alongside Hector and Cat, peer educators from Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn. Seeing high school students present to other high school students made all the difference. There’s just something about hearing it from someone who walks the same hallways, sits in the same classrooms, and actually understands what it means to navigate relationships as a teenager.

Brooklyn Tech students showed up for the conversation. Every period, more students poured into the auditorium—some quiet and unsure of what to expect, others already buzzing with energy. Some were engaged from the start, others took time to warm up, but by the end of each session, they were talking, thinking, questioning, and wanting to know more.

What Happens When Students Teach Students

There’s something different about a room when a student stands up in front of their peers and starts speaking. The energy shifts. It’s no longer just another school presentation. It’s a conversation—one that feels real, personal, and relevant. That’s exactly what happened at Brooklyn Tech when Hector and Cat, two of our trained SafeBAE peer educators from Fort Hamilton High School, stepped up to lead alongside our team.

They weren’t just reading from a script. They shared their own experiences, the moments when they first realized how much they weren’t being taught about consent, boundaries, and healthy relationships. They talked about how they found SafeBAE, what it meant to become peer educators, and why they were standing in front of this room now—not as experts, but as students who just wanted their peers to have the tools they never had.

That’s why peer education works. It creates space for students to actually listen, absorb, and ask questions they might not feel comfortable asking an adult. When one student says, “I’ve been in a situation where I didn’t know how to set a boundary,” or “I never learned what a healthy relationship should look like,” it makes someone else in the room feel like they’re not alone.

At Brooklyn Tech, students leaned in when Hector and Cat spoke. They asked questions. They nodded along when something resonated. And by the time the session was over, they weren’t just sitting through another assembly—they were thinking about what this actually meant in their own lives.

400 Students Ready to Lead – The Future of SafeBAE’s Peer Educators

By the end of the second day, it was clear just how much this mattered. Students weren’t just listening—they were ready to take action. Over the course of 20 presentations, 400 students signed up for SafeBAE’s Peer Educator Training.

That number isn’t just impressive—it’s proof that young people want to be part of the solution. They don’t want to just sit in a room and be told about consent and healthy relationships. They want to be the ones leading these conversations, helping their peers, and making real change in their schools.

As students lined up to sign up, they asked questions about what the training involved, what it meant to be a peer educator, and how they could bring SafeBAE to their own communities. Some had never heard of peer education before but immediately saw its value. Others had been looking for something like this for a long time—a way to take their own experiences and turn them into something meaningful.

Seeing this kind of response is exactly why we do what we do. It’s not about giving a presentation and leaving. It’s about sparking something bigger—something that lasts beyond the time we spend in a school auditorium. It’s about building a network of young people who are equipped, empowered, and ready to lead the movement for safer schools.

Brooklyn Tech showed us that students aren’t just open to these conversations—they’re hungry for them. And when given the opportunity to step up, they do.

Keep the Momentum Going – How You Can Support the Next Generation of Peer Educators

Brooklyn Tech was just one school, but what happened there proves something bigger—students are ready to lead. They want to talk about consent, they want to support their peers, and they want the tools to create real change in their schools. But to keep this momentum going, we need you.

If you believe in the power of peer-led education and want to help us reach even more students, here’s how you can take action today:

• Bring SafeBAE to Your School – Our trained speakers lead powerful, interactive presentations on consent, healthy relationships, and bystander intervention. Hire a speaker and bring this conversation to your community.
• Become a Peer Educator – If you’re a student who wants to take the lead in prevention education, sign up for our Peer Educator Training and learn how to facilitate conversations that make a difference.
• Support Our Work – Every donation allows us to keep these programs free and accessible to students everywhere. Donate today and invest in the next generation of leaders.

The work doesn’t stop here. Prevention starts with education, and young people are leading the way. Join us in making sure they have everything they need to keep pushing forward.