Bullying Leads to Suicide

The news all over has been splashed with titles of suicide after suicide of youth taking their lives due to their inability to cope with the never ending bullying that they endure.  It's not the beginning of this, and suicides like these have gone on before - for too long.  It seems like lately it's been happening in overdrive; the reason - bullying gay teens.  Teens who are gay or who others assume are gay have been and continue to be targets of ceaseless bullying in elementary and high schools all over North America and the eduation system still does little to ACTUALLY prevent these things from happening.  All these schools talk about a "no bullying" or "no tolerance" policy regarding acts like the ones we've heard so much about lately; however, very few schools actually do anything to put an end to it.  I think the recent news shows that if there's a time for schools to finally step up and step in, it's now.  Go ahead and have your "no bullying" policies, but actually act on them when theirs complaints.  First time it happens, send the bully home.  Second time it happens, suspend the kid.  If you act instead of talk, bullying will slow down and not be as rampant as it is, where bullies know they can get away with it.  But the problem is...so do the people that are getting bullied.  They have no one to protect them and help them.  They turn to what, at that time in their lives, seems like the only way to get away from all the pain they endure.  It needs to stop.  All these stories about bullied kids committing suicide break my heart cause I was there when I was younger and bullied.  I know what it's like to want it to stop and think that the only way to end the hurt is through suicide.  Thankfully, I was able to make it through thanks to one person that I met in Grade 10 and if it wasn't for her I don't think I'd be here.  But now that I'm where I am today, I'm happy I've made it.  I can say without a doubt that it DOES get better even though it doesn't feel possible.  Here's the clip from Ellen about one of the latest stories.