Area parents create Facebook group to combat bullying

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Bullying impacts not just a child, but the whole family. In Brunswick County, some parents decided to do something about it.

“We’re shining a big old flashlight on this issue right now, in Brunswick County,” Katie Boyd said.

A couple of moms in Brunswick County are a force, taking steps to eliminate bullying.

“We are a collective group of women who have come together to discuss bullying to bring awareness to the community that it exists and to address some of the officials who are in charge on procedures, policies, communication, standards that haven’t been addressed,” Shannon Gordon said.

They created a Facebook group called “Enough is Enough! Help with putting a stop to bullying in our kids school!” The group of parents meet up to find out how they can tackle the issue and bring attention to bullying.

“We all have different stories but the one thing that binds us is that we all want to see better for our children and that we all want to feel better when we drop them off at school,” Gordon said.

“We have to be doing things and that’s what we’re doing right now. Even so much as sitting at a dining room table and talking about our experiences and how we can help our children,” Boyd said.

They say this group is helping parents find a common ground to stand up for their kids, just like it had for these women.

“One of the hallmarks about bullying is taking away a certain level of power. Doing things in secrecy. And when you can discuss it outward and open, when you have a sounding board, when you can hear other people’s experiences, you become empowered and that empowerment can lead to change,” Boyd said.

It’s in an effort to bring attention to bullying.

They’ve also created t-shirts to deliver their message.

A Brunswick County schools spokesman tells us the process for reporting bullying is for the parent to immediately contact school administration. It is then investigated. But soon, Brunswick County schools will roll out a new tool to combat bullying by reporting it online with an incident form. Every school’s website will have a feature for it. Once submitted, it will immediately alert school administration personnel, including the principal, who will have a designated time frame to make contact and begin an investigation.