After a survey found that students didn’t feel safe in their Pueblo, Colorado community, the Safe Haven for Pueblo Bullying Victims Project stepped in to make a difference.

The Safe Schools/Healthy Students group got help from more than 700 students to design posters denouncing bullying. They then reached out to business owners to hang the posters in their windows, to show their community support for the project. The posters alert students that these businesses will provide a refuge for them if they are being bullied or feel unsafe. The business owners agreed to help youth arrange for someone to pick up any students who are being bullied and to let them wait there until a safe ride arrives. Continue Reading

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month!  Dating violence can happen to any teen in a romantic, dating, or sexual relationship, anytime, anywhere. It can happen in person or online with a current or former dating partner. Bullying involves acts of violence, power or control of one person over another.  But it does not have to happen at all.

One study found that young males who frequently bully peers in school are likely to perform acts of domestic violence as adults.  Preparing schools and communities to prevent, identify and respond when students are in need of help is a high priority.... Continue Reading

Late one Tuesday night, I received a text from the mother of my son’s friend. She told me that we needed to talk NOW; would I call her? Two weeks earlier, my 15-year-old son had broken down in tears over the harassment he was receiving at school. What I did not know, but learned from the mother who contacted me, was that my son had come very close to attempting suicide the night before. The actions of friends may indeed have saved my son’s life. My husband and I knew “Jake” was hurting inside. Continue Reading

Bullying can affect everyone—those who are bullied, those who bully, and those who witness bullying. Bullying is linked to many negative outcomes including impacts on mental health, substance use, and suicide. Although kids who are bullied are at risk of suicide, bullying alone is not the cause. Many issues contribute to suicide risk, some of which include depression, substance abuse, problems at home, and trauma history. James Wright is at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the Suicide Prevention Branch. Mr. Wright is the project officer for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and works with states receiving funding for youth suicide prevention through the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act.

... Continue Reading