POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 53 310 TALK Bullying hotline has teens talking Few know the devastating effect that bullying can have on a young life better than Angie Gibson. In three different schools she attended in New Brunswick, in particular in Grade 9, she was teased, tormented and physically and emotionally intimidated to such an extent even she marvels at her ability to overcome such devastating and unrelenting abuse by her peers. Today, Gibson is proud of her position as Community Policing Officer / School Liaison for Kentville Police Service and eager to help other young people in similar situations. “I was a very quiet, sheltered student. I couldn’t afford to have clothes that had name brands. Kids threw spit balls, pinged elastics....” With the exception of one close friend, Angie had no one to turn to and few she could trust. “The teachers did nothing.” One time, while on crutches for a torn ligament in her ankle, she was refused entrance to an elevator by a group of Grade 12 students. “I didn’t even know who these kids were,” says Gibson, who points out the irony of the fact that she was learning to be a peer mediator at the time. Those hurtful personal memories and her subsequent career working on the police force with local youth, including with the Bully SMART program at Kings County Academy in Kentville, inspired Gibson to explore the possibility of creating a service to help students in the area deal with bullying. She began by contacting constables Peter Mayatt and Ian Burke of the Halifax Regional Police Service, who founded and supervised a bullying hotline in Halifax and Cape Breton in September 2002. For additional feedback she called Don Boylan of Aliant, the program’s main sponsor. “From there the ball started rolling.” Last Tuesday, Sept, 30, Gibson stood before a crowd of students, teachers and officials at Northeast Kings Education Centre in Canning to announce the official launch of the Kentville Police Service and RCMP Bullying Awareness Campaign. She expressed appreciation to a range of supporters, including major sponsors Aliant, Print Atlantic, Corporate Communications Limited -- a public relations and advertising firm based in Halifax -- Annapolis Valley Radio Group, Kentville Police Service and the RCMP, and encouraged students to use the hotline and spread the word. Aliant regional manager Vernon Stair said the company is providing free of charge the promotional material and communication services for the project, including the cell phone carried by Constable Gibson, as means to “help the community, parents, teachers and students alike.” In a later interview, Gibson talked more about the hotline and how it works. She said students who phone 310-TALK will reach her directly. Calls from students in schools in the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board area other than KCA and NKEC, for which Gibson is directly responsible, will also be taken by Gibson, who will then fill out a report and fax it to the school RCMP liaison officer in that area for follow-up, if required. Each month Gibson will review progress with a small volunteer committee of community members and RCMP. Restorative Justice will be involved in some mediation. Gibson recognizes that abuses of the service are inevitable. “Hopefully, people will see it as an important service and realize that by making prank calls they will tie up the line for someone who may try once and not call again.” The hotline involves a variety of options. In some cases, Gibson may meet with the caller personally. When calls are school-related, the principal will be informed and parents notified, if need be. Gibson says while awareness of bullying has grown since the days when she suffered such torment, parents, teachers, students and the community in general still have lots to learn, and they are welcome to contact her for help. “I’ve been there. I know how it feels. That’s where my passion for this comes from. It’s an asset for me in knowing how to deal with these issues. “Bullying has not gotten worse. Awareness has brought it out. People are coming forward and talking about it and that’s what we want.” Brittney Rogers, a 13-year-old Grade 8 student and middle school co-president at NKEC, plans to encourage other students to use the hotline. “I think it’s a really good idea because some kids don’t want to talk to anybody they know. I think kids would feel more comfortable doing it (with the hotline)”. Rogers was teased in elementary school over “stupid things like what colour socks I was wearing” and found that ignoring her tormentors helped put an end to it. She recognizes that more blatant forms of bullying she has witnessed, such as “people beating up other people and calling them really bad names,” however, need bigger solutions. Even still, says Gibson, “little comments can snowball and really affect someone’s life.” Under the theme “Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not going on,” the campaign is aimed at everything from ridicule over clothing styles to physical aggression. While one survey shows that 85 per cent of students have never been bullied and do not bully others, it’s important to bear in mind that the figure represents 85 per cent who “just stand by and don’t know what to do.” “You guys have the strongest voice, you can make a difference,” is a message Gibson wants to relay. Peter Myatt, School Education Program Coordinator for Halifax Regional Police, has seen the difference such programs can make. The Halifax bullying hotline has received about 2,000 calls to date. Making inroads into entrenched societal behaviours such as bullying and peer pressure, however, isn’t easy and results can be tough to measure. “The real outcomes won’t be known until these children go out into life and become adults.” Educating a youth prone to bullying may prevent domestic violence down the road. Myatt also said, considering the size of the area being covered, he predicts Constable Gibson will be “very busy” as the Valley hotline gathers steam. Brittney Rogers (left), Don Boylan - Aliant (center) and Cst. Angie Gibson (right) By Patty Mintz - (Oct. 7, 2003)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==