It Takes a Village
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Student State Representative Program
Inspire. Interact. Ignite. Intervene. Impact.
Click the Enter button below to meet your Representatives and our Be Strong Fearless SUPER Heroes!
WHY DO WE NEED
BE STRONG?
Bullying prevention & anti-bullying efforts over the past decade has not resulted a reduction in bullying. In fact, bullying, cyberbullying, suicide and hopelessness among youth are all on the rise. Our youth deserve better. Be Strong resolved to reverse these trends by equipping and empowering youth to ignite a change in peer behavior. To date, Be Strong’s approach has proven to be effective.
%
%
of 9th - 12th grade students have been BULLIED on SCHOOL PROPERTY
%
%
of students FELT SAD & HOPELESS almost every day for 2 or more weeks
%
%
of students have seriously CONSIDERED SUICIDE
%
%
of students have ATTEMPTED SUICIDE one or more times in the past 12 months
Statistics based on the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) published by theUS Department of Health and Human Services.
Our Plan
Empowering youth to be the change they want to see in our world through hope and resiliency training. Not all aggressive behavior is qualified as bullying, our step one is to create awareness for students, parents/guardians, teachers and administrators to identify what bullying actually is providing a safe place for students to reveal the challenges that they are facing. Providing them with support and resources when social injustice issues occur. To that end, we are meeting them where they are by developing and implementing a number of tools that form the Be Strong Digital Bridge, a set of digital tools that connects people of all ages with one-touch resources such as a suicide lifeline, text line, and trusted friends alert, a Smartphone App, an information portal, increased access to social resources as well as a growing team of Be Strong Student Leaders prepared to spread the message of help, support and understanding to young people in need.
Depression, anxiety, and many other psychological challenges, can result from bullying, and exposure to violence can lead to a wide array of negative behaviors and outcomes, including alcohol and drug use, self-harm and suicide, arrests and gun violence. We therefore support training teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, and qualified community volunteers to help recognize signs that a student might need special attention.
Through heightened awareness, community advocacy and youth empowerment, Be Strong strives to shine a light on social environment safety and acceptance, enhance knowledge about the resources available and aggregate professional service providers. Join the Be Strong Movement.
Let’s Get Social!
We have strength in numbers.
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Your Story
Your voice matters – we would be honored to elevate your personal story of triumph, breaking out of the statistics mentality & sharing the true human experience. If you have a story you would like to share please fill out the form below or contact us to discuss a possible testimonial interview.
Get Help
If feel you are in a crisis, whether or not you are thinking about killing yourself, struggling with suicidal thoughts, depression, bullying, or self-harm, talk to someone right now who can help. Please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) you’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area, anytime 24/7. If there has been a crime or someone is at immediate risk of harm call 911.
Get Involved
With all of us working together, youth, parents/guardians, educators, administration, NGOs, social service providers – WE CAN SAVE LIVES – Be Strong believes in the potential of every single student: the survivors, the allies & the bullies.
What’s the Be Strong APP?
The Be Strong app unites power with choice that saves & changes lives. You’ll find resources, support, and intervention for those who are affected by bullying, depression, or suicide, and best practices on combatting many adversities. We know this generation is facing issues and disadvantages that result in bullying and we want to help. If you have friends who are struggling with hunger, housing, escaping violence and much more, sit down with them and put your zip code in the local support section of the app – Help is at your fingertips, including one-touch resources, such as suicide lifeline, text help line, and trusted friend alert.
We are Stronger Together – Download the Be Strong app TODAY!
Learning Resources
I’m Golden
I started learning a lesson about the time I was eighteen that I’ve kept learning throughout my life. And that lesson is that every new phase of life brings a new challenge that I’m going to have to deal with – especially when I think I’m golden.
South Charleston Middle School Students Assigned Seats at Lunch for a Cause
One Kanawha County middle school is taking a proactive approach to bullying prevention. They’re doing that by mixing up the seats in the lunchroom and making sure that no one sits alone. “Just looking at other people and seeing that they’re not sitting alone, it makes me feel 100 times better,” said Allie Rosen, who’s the Student State Representative for [Be Strong].
The Secret about Body Shaming
Perhaps the most common form of bullying is what’s become known as “body shaming.” This, obviously, involves making fun of our bodily imperfections or differences. It is especially easy to get upset by such insults because we tend to be sensitive about our bodies. We all want to look good and to be seen as perfect. Thus, when people make fun of things that we, ourselves, have difficulty accepting, we feel hurt and humiliated. It’s bad enough that we badger ourselves about what’s “wrong” with our bodies. We hope that others don’t notice, and we hate it when they bring it out into the open with an insult.
News
South Charleston Middle School Students Assigned Seats at Lunch for a Cause
One Kanawha County middle school is taking a proactive approach to bullying prevention. They’re doing that by mixing up the seats in the lunchroom and making sure that no one sits alone. “Just looking at other people and seeing that they’re not sitting alone, it makes me feel 100 times better,” said Allie Rosen, who’s the Student State Representative for [Be Strong].
Worthless or Worth More?
As the years passed, getting bullied resulted in me becoming a bully. As a bully I was always ostracized from clubs, gatherings, and school assemblies which was like adding gas to fire. Historically, only students who were well behaved attended assemblies and social events. My negative behavior prevented school-based and community organizations from including me in their activities. This, in turn, made me feel invisible.
We Dine Together Becomes Popular at Oregon City High School
Shaylee Cooper, OCHS sophomore class president, only set up the innovative program in
partnership with the school resource officers for the district at the beginning of this month. We
Dine Together is an initiative within Be Strong’s Student State Representative program, and Cooper is Oregon’s student representative.
We Need Your Help
Please call 954.246.5852 to learn about the unique ways that we can partner & you or your organization can become a Be Strong Sponsor or Impact Partner –
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Contact Us
If you want to become a part of the Be Strong mission we want to hear from you.
