SALEM, Va. – On Tuesday night, dozens of parents and concerned citizens gathered at the CommUNITY Church in Salem to find answers to the bullying problems that speakers say plague the local schools.
Parents spoke about the issues that their children had faced in schools while sharing personal stories that have affected them and their children.
One such parent commented that her 9-year-old daughter, who has special needs, was affected so much by bullying that they attempted to jump out of a moving vehicle.
Another parent talked about her 16-year-old son, who had suffered panic attacks due to the constant bullying he faced.
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One parent suggested that a mural be painted for 10-year-old Autumn Bushman, who tragically took her own life in late March.
The town hall meeting was organized by Tom McCracken, who claimed that schools haven’t done enough to combat issues like cyberbullying while saying that not enough has been done to provide proper mental health care for bullying victims.
“Right now in Virginia, there are no policies, there is no legislation,” McCracken said. “There is no legislation right now in Virginia that mandates mental health be available to a victim of a bullying incident.”
McCraken says that he is currently working with legal counsel and politicians to create legislation that criminalizes bullying while rewarding witnesses who act as defenders.
