Violence brought him here.

In October 2009, Michael Brewer, a 15-year-old student at Deerfield Beach Middle School, was sprayed with rubbing alcohol and lit on fire in an off-campus incident stemming from a beef over a video game. Over 75% of his body was burned.

In March, Josie Lou Ratley, 15, suffered permanent brain damage when he was beaten outside the school by a student from another school who allegedly received a disparaging text message from Ratley about his brother, who had committed suicide. Ratley, an eighth-grader, was stomped with steel-toe boots.

Those horrifying incidents, and others involving area youth, struck a nerve with the Miami Dolphins' star running back.

"The stuff that happened here, or the school shootings, you ask, 'Why?' " Brown says. "A lot of times, we feel like it's not close to us and we're not affected. Then you realize it's not one situation. All across the country, kids are resorting to violence. It's becoming easier for them to make those decisions, and it's sickening."

Brown, 28, has taken an ambitious step in trying to help. With the help of the Jason Taylor Foundation, he launched a massive campaign in September to heighten awareness about violence and bullying packaged as "23 Ways to Stop Youth Violence" — the 23 a play on his uniform number — that aims to reach 10,000 kids at eight middle and high schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties this season.

Engaged, with no children, he tours schools on off days, acutely aware he is more concerned citizen than trained expert. He is also the drawing card, commanding the attention of star-struck kids while the meat-and-potatoes of the presentation is conducted by either of two documentary filmmakers from Teen Truth Live and a team of juvenile counselors and social workers who accompany Brown and conduct breakout sessions.

It strikes to the core of an issue that school officials nationwide contend is an increasing concern.

According to the most recent report on school crime and safety from the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2009, 75% of public schools reported at least one violent incident during the 2007-08 school year — when there were 43 school-associated violent deaths and 1.5 million non-fatal crimes, ranging from assault to theft. Within the last two years in South Florida, two high school students were killed in incidents between classes.

The Josephson Institute of Ethics last month released results of a survey on bullying that found 50% of 43,321 respondents nationwide ages 15 to 18 said they had "bullied, teased or taunted someone at least once."

Bullying epidemic

At Deerfield Beach Middle School, after students watched Teen Truth's powerful 22-minute documentary on youth violence, producer JC Pohl conducted his own survey. He asked students to stand if ever "pushed, shoved, kicked or tripped."

Roughly half of the 600 kids stood. After follow-up questions — including whether any had been targeted by rumors or gossip or called names — each kid in the entire room stood.

"Sit down," Pohl concluded, "if you've ever done any of these things to anyone."

Six kids were left standing.

Christine Flynn, the school's principal, was ecstatic about the presentation. Since arriving last year to the middle school, one of four in Florida with an International Baccalaureate curriculum for high academic achievers, she has been in a crisis mode. The anti-violence presentations complemented the attention to core values, such as character, that she ranks as high priorities.

"It's not a one-shot deal," Flynn said. "With the work we did last year, it's a continuous conversation with our kids."

She was particularly impressed that Brown connected with students by revealing personal truths regarding situations that were unrelated to violence.

In March, Brown was charged with a DUI after an incident in Atlanta, where he visited relatives. The case is pending, yet Brown uses it to address responsibility and decision making.

Another theme, handling adversity, also was amplified. He told kids of the weeks he lived with relatives after his parents, Ronnie Sr. and Joyce, were arrested on drug-related charges. Brown, who grew up in Cartersville, Ga., and starred at Auburn, says he was about 6 or 7 when this occurred. He hadn't exposed that part of his past until this fall, as an example to kids.

"Going through those things, that made me stronger," he says, adding his parents had no further legal issues and now live together in Atlanta. "I'm a quiet personality, so I kind of masked everything and didn't let people in on what I was dealing with. So this has been therapeutic."

This soul-searching represents a two-way street. As much as Brown piques the interest of his young audience, listening has been an eye-opener.

During a session at Miami Northwestern High School, he was stunned that several kids argued against a countywide curfew for minors (11 p.m. on weeknights), oblivious to risks. Some kids told him that violence would still occur — earlier.

The conversation illustrated No. 2 on his list. "They are not thinking about the bigger picture," Brown says. "If you're inside, the possibilities of getting hit by a stray bullet are a lot less."

He says one student remarked, "If I get shot, that's just what happens in our neighborhood."

Brown says such a sentiment validates the need for his campaign, which includes providing the kids with credo cards.

"You just want to change the mentality," he says.

Anger management

Room 156. Ms. Escobar's classroom. Brown stands near the front, observing an anger-management session for about 20 students conducted by LaTosha Tarver, a Miami-Dade juvenile counselor. A 15-year-old girl declares that she doesn't believe techniques suggested in her required anger-management classes (stemming from an incident at another school) are practical.

"I ain't going to let nobody bully me," the girl contends.

Tarver outlines various scenarios and preaches compromise (No. 23 on Brown's list).

"I'd end up fighting," the girl says.

Says Tarver, "That's what we're trying to prevent."

Later, the girl expresses a desire to control her temper.

The topic hit home with another student in the class, Nick Mark, 15. He was a friend of Ratley's and struggles to accept how the situation spun out of control.

"I should have been there for Josie," he said.

He is nonetheless buoyed by the presentation. "I learned that violence is not always the answer," he said. "Kids can change."

Flynn wants the takeaway to include a realization that a violent incident can occur in a split second — and forever change the lives of perpetrators and victims.

"We have to make those connections with kids, where they are comfortable coming to us," Flynn says. "So that's a big key."

No. 6 on Brown's list: talk to someone you trust.

Saving a life

Ken Walton, assistant principal at Fort Lauderdale's Dillard High School, thinks Brown's presentation might have saved a life.

On the Monday morning after Brown's visit Oct. 12, Walton said several students alerted administrators of an issue that had escalated over the weekend. A student was apparently planning to commit suicide. Walton said school officials intervened and the student was receiving help.

"The fact that they came forward," Walton said, "I think that was a result of the kids being exposed to the program."

Walton knows the worst-case scenario all too well. In November 2008, 15-year-old Amanda Collette was shot to death outside a classroom at Dillard High, by a 15-year-old female classmate. Before the shooting, the girls exchanged text messages and the girl convicted of murder showed another student a .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol and threatened to "get" Collette.

Anne-Renee Testa, a New York-based psychologist, says it is critical for educators to be more compassionate than ever, given increasing stimuli.

"You can't have the children feel that their concerns are not acknowledged," Testa says.

Walton says socioeconomic conditions also factor. He said that, for the first time since he has been at Dillard High, all students receive free breakfast.

"There's more stress at home, and it rolls down," he said. "People are losing homes, losing jobs. That goes from the adults and families to the kids to school."

Pohl says it cannot be assumed that kids in rural areas or affluent suburban settings are not dealing with myriad issues that can lead to disaster. The tragedy at Columbine High School in 1999 inspired Pohl to collaborate with director Erahm Christopher on films devoted to teen issues.

Says Pohl, "We believe to shoot up a school, use drugs, have an eating disorder, it's all coming from the same place: pressure inside of you."

Increasingly, bullying is viewed as a method of releasing pressure. Testa classifies more than 10 types of bullies (including control-freak and guilt-trip bullies), while cyber-bullying is now part of the lexicon for educators.

"The definition of bullying is more comprehensive," said Andrew Post, assistant principal at Homestead (Fla.) High School, where a "bully box" sits in the library for students to anonymously report such behavior. "It's not just physical aggression."

Brown stresses that some incidents can be avoided with coping strategies.

"I think a lot of times, kids think, 'If I walk away, I'm not tough,' " Brown says. "But if you walk away, you get to go on with the rest of your day. ... It's really about giving yourself a chance to be successful throughout the rest of your life."