Let's get together on bullying

Editor,
Two little girls gone from us and for what? My grandson knew these little girls and we know one was being bullied unmercifully and we were told that other girl was also.

No matter the reason for these two beautiful little girls to take their own lives it should be a wake-up call not only to the schools but to parents, as well. These children were feeling so bad that they saw only one way out and it shouldn’t have been that way.

I read the article about this today and I have to say that when my grandson was in middle school at Pioneer I noticed that he was not himself. He was not doing any of the things he did normally and he had shut down. I knew he was having problems with some kids at school but I did not realize how big the problem was until I sat him down and talked to him.

He was being bullied by a group of kids at school and was contemplating taking his own life because he was tired of the abuse by these kids. I contacted the school immediately and they went into action. They had my grandson talk to a school counselor and then had me take him to speak with counselor at the youth services.

Thank God I was able to see that my grandson was in distress but it is not always that way, you can’t always tell. There needs to be a network set up where students who are not comfortable speaking to an adult about their issues can speak to other kids who have gone through the same things. Kids relate to other kids sometimes better than they do with adults.

Please, let’s get together and do something before another young life is lost. Those who do the bullying should take a closer look at themselves and put themselves in their victim’s shoes.

Tammy Thomas
Porterville