Bullying Sucks

This week I just want to share something that is on my heart. I've been searching for solutions on a particular subject, but I have found nothing. The subject that has come up quite a bit over the last few weeks is bullying. I have heard countless stories of young people being bullied, and my heart breaks for all of them. Even worse, it seems as though very little is being done to help.

I don't know how it is for folks in other states, but Hawaii has no anti-bullying laws. Some changes are in the process of being made, but a recent report says that bullying is a major problem here and not even close to enough is being done to help (see: "New poll calls bullying 'major problem' in Hawaii"). The public school system says they are implementing programs to stop bullying, but again, not enough is being done. Moreover, many parents and students have personally told me of how they have gone to speak to school administrators because they or someone they knew was being bullied, only to have the administrators ignore them, tell them nothing can be done, or even go so far as to tell them that it isn't a "school" problem, so they would not do anything about the bullying.

In my own searches for answers, I have found nothing. I wanted to help with a fundraiser and give the funds to an anti-bullying group, but I couldn't find any to give the money to. It's sad, really. I guess in our particular state there are way more questions than answers. Meanwhile, young people are hurting out there. Some of them are taking their own lives as a result of bullying and that is completely unacceptable. More needs to be done, but what?

This is where I find myself. I want to do more, but I'm not sure what to do yet. Where does one even begin with a problem of this magnitude? Anyway, this is what is on my heart. I'm going to keep working on this. I would love to have input. Please feel free to share your stories as well. Your voice counts. It's time to stand up to bullying. Take care everyone and God bless.