Student led projects aim to make community bullyproof

Press Release

Each year 19,000 children commit suicide as a direct result of being bullied. October is b”Bullying Awareness Month.” Troy University’s Counseling & Psychology Department and Office of Service Learning and Civic Engagement have joined with Troy City Schools, Pike County Schools and East Central Child Health Collaborative to hold several events to promote the impact of bullying in our local community.

Students from the Counseling and Psychology undergraduate and graduate programs have given presentations to middle and high school students in Troy City and Pike County School Districts. Presentations centered on students’ perception of bullying and strategies for prevention.

Thursday at 6 p.m. a town hall meeting will be held with community leaders, mental health experts and schools’ officials to receive input and feedback to begin developing solutions of bullying for the community. Greg Price from the university’s IT Department will be speaking on cyber-bullying and Brent Cosby from the Jason Foundation will speak on suicide prevention. The forum will be held in Hawkins Hall 122.

On Saturday, Oct. 26, the community will join forces for a 5K run to support local bully prevention efforts. The race begins at 8 a.m. at the Square in Downtown Troy. Interested participants can register at bullyproof5k.eventbrite.com and in person the day of the event. Participants will receive a race t-shirt, and all funds raised will go to fund bullying curriculum in the Troy City and Pike County School Districts.

For more information, please contact Jonathan Cellon at jcellon@troy.edu or Jason Orrock at jorrock@troy.edu.